Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
BRONX, NY — Seattle Mariners Cuban-born Mexican star Randy Arozarena has an edge every time he steps up to the plate in a big moment.
And when he hears banter from opposing fan bases, that just adds to his fire as it seems each time the 31-year-old ends up coming through in the clutch.
“I like playing here in New York. It’s nice and the fans booing and messing with me motivates me to play better,” the three-time All-Star told Latino Sports Wednesday in the Bronx before going yard in the first inning of Seattle’s 10-5 loss to the Yankees.
When everything is clicking in the batter’s box, like this week at Yankee Stadium—recording back-to-back games with a home run, his 15th and 16th of 2026—Arozarena attributes the success to his mind and mental state being in a good place.
But with the good and bad over his long journey, born in Mantua, Cuba and fleeing to Mexico at the age of 19 in 2015, Arozarena wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I have been living there (Mexico) since I left Cuba,” he said. “I have a Mexican daughter, I am a citizen there. I have played in a lot of leagues there and I have a lot of good friends in Mexico that helped me feel good to play there and that’s why I went with them to the World Baseball Classic.”
Randy Arozarena leads the Mariners this season with an fWAR of 3.4, is tied for the team lead with 52 RBIs, and has 16 home runs with an OPS of .822 – Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
With all of the hardships and challenges faced, Arozarena’s desire to be great and make a difference is what got him to this point and that’s why you usually see him giving back to fans.
Most players do when they have the time, but Arozarena is one who literally during games will sign baseballs and take photos with fans. At T-Mobile Park in Seattle as well as each road ballpark the Mariners are stationed in.
“I’m a happy person and I feel like when I’m playing, I like to interact with everybody and kind of share that happiness,” he said. “That’s just kind of the person I am, and I know that is never going to stop. You know, just trying to be happy and play the game I love.”
There is another world where Arozarena, a multi-sport athlete, isn’t the baseball star we all know of today because his first love was actually soccer.
“I was a soccer player and I love soccer,” he noted. “In the same town where I was from, the same soccer field was the same as a baseball field so I was able to practice both of them. But eventually, I just kind of leaned towards baseball. I realized that it would help build a better life for me and my family.”
About his family, Arozarena’s younger brother Raiko, 29, is a professional (soccer) goalkeeper, most recently playing for New Mexico United in the 2026 USL Championship season.
In 2022, a year before Randy put on a show for Team Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and again in the 2026 WBC, Raiko played in two matches for Cuba’s National Soccer Team against the Dominican Republic.
One of seven Cuban-born All-Stars to make an appearance in this year’s Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, the most-ever in a ASG for Cuban-born MLB players, Arozarena, winning the prestigious 2020 AL LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year Award as a Tampa Bay Ray, is now in his eighth MLB season.
Randy Arozarena, his wife Cenelia Pinedo Blanco, and their two daughters during Randy’s 2020 AL LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year Award ceremony at Tropicana Field – Image Credit: Tampa Bay Rays
“It means a lot to me being Latino and getting an award like that,” he said. “Trying to help everybody push themselves to another level in baseball.
And, you know, here, especially as a Latino, adding a little flavor to the game of baseball is definitely something we try to do.”
Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content
Instagram: @latinosportsoficial
Facebook: Latino Sports
Twitter: @latinosports
TikTok: @latino.sports
