Give Randy Arozarena a TV show. Heck, put him in charge of a movie studio and an entire streaming service. The Rays outfielder and Team Mexico superstar has a knack for shining when the lights are brightest. He certainly did that again when he robbed Kazuma Okamoto of a home run during Monday’s semifinal World Baseball Classic contest against Japan.
When Okamoto — who drove in five runs in Samurai Japan’s quarterfinal victory against Italy — hit a dome-scraping 378-foot shot, Arozarena tracked it to the wall and waited under it for what seemed like an endless minute, before making a leaping stab for the ball. When he finally returned to earth, he had not changed his expression at all. It was only when Okamoto began his celebratory home run trot that Arozarena revealed he actually had the ball.
Perhaps the best part was simply how nonchalant he was, like the adoring adulation from thousands of Mexico fans in attendance was as routine as picking up your bags at the grocery store or making a trip to the post office.
