Team USA may have won the Monday game against Mexico, but the real battle took off between Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena. During the game, Raleigh reportedly skipped the friendly moment at home plate and didn’t shake the hand of his Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena, leaving him hanging. For Raleigh, national pride came before MLB friendships, and the camaraderie could wait until after the tournament.

However, as per Blue Jays veteran Kevin Pillar, Raleigh took that straight out of Kobe Bryant’s playbook!

“We’re going to figure out what Cal’s side of the story was, but I do want to touch on it because, obviously, being a huge Kobe Bryant fan, let me paint the picture a little bit. This is a 2008 gold medal game. Before that, in the Lakers, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant just won an NBA title together.” Pillar draws a similarity between Cal Raleigh and Kobe Bryant. But how?

Back in the 2008 Olympic gold medal game, Bryant wasted no time setting the tone. On the very first play, he deliberately ran straight into his Lakers teammate, Pau Gasol, who was playing for Spain, and knocked him down. Thus, making one thing clear: in that moment, winning for Team USA mattered more than anything else.

What made it even more ironic was that just weeks earlier, Bryant and Gasol had celebrated an NBA title together with the Lakers. But the message from Kobe was obvious: club loyalty could wait, but the Olympics were about country first.

“We are no longer brothers. I’m wearing the USA on my chest. My brothers are the guys wearing this uniform. After this tournament is over, we can be brothers and family again.” Pillar quoted Bryant’s 2008 statement.

So, surely you are getting the same vibe from Cal Raleigh’s moment with his Mariners teammate. In the same Kobe Bryant style, Raleigh declined Arozarena’s friendly handshake call at home plate. And if that’s not enough, Raleigh himself basically backed Pillar’s comparison.

He made it clear there’s no bad blood, saying he loves Arozarena and that when they’re back in Seattle, they’re like brothers. But during the WBC, his responsibility is to his Team USA teammates and staying completely locked in.

In other words, just like Bryant back in 2008, Raleigh’s message was simple: national duty comes first. For the duration of the tournament, he’s Team USA’s catcher, not a Mariners teammate

So yes, you could see it as peak professionalism and patriotism. But this might make things a little awkward for the Mariners’ front office once everyone’s back wearing the same uniform again.

Randy Arozarena does not seem pleased with Cal Raleigh’s act

While Cal Raleigh went into detail explaining his “no handshake” moment and even called Randy Arozarena his brother, it doesn’t look like Arozarena is buying the explanation at all. In fact, the Mariners outfielder had a pretty fiery response after the game.

Speaking to reporters, Arozarena went on a blunt rant, saying Raleigh could “go f— himself,” repeating the line in Cuban style, Mexican style, and then again in English. So, that’s not exactly the kind of reaction that cools things down right away.

Now the awkward part is coming. Reportedly, both Raleigh and Arozarena are expected to be back in the Mariners clubhouse in Peoria sometime in the next week, and the team will have to figure out how to smooth things over internally. Because, from a baseball standpoint, both players are huge pieces for Seattle. Raleigh was the club’s biggest power bat in 2025, while Arozarena also delivered a strong season with 27 HRs.

We are more familiar with teams worrying about their stars getting injured during the WBC, but the Mariners might be dealing with a different kind of headache once the regular season kicks in.