This past Tuesday at Rate Field in Chicago, Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte was brought to tears on the field after a heckler in the stands said something about his late mother. Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in 2017. The fan has since been banned from all MLB ballparks.
“(I told Marte) ‘I love you and I’m with you and we’re all together and you’re not alone,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said he told Marte when he consoled him during a pitching change. “‘No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you heard, that guy is an idiot. It shouldn’t have an impact on you.'”
The White Sox displayed “Baseball is Family: The baseball community supports Ketel Marte” on the Rate Field scoreboard the day after the incident, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat.
On Friday, Marte revealed during an interview with Spanish-language journalist Yancen Pujols that the fan yelled “I sent your mom a text last night.” Marte added the remark hit especially hard because he and the D-backs were playing in Chicago when he learned about his mother’s death eight years ago.
Later in the interview, Marte said he believes something needs to be done about fans who are crossing the line with their heckles with increased frequency. Here’s what he said (translation via @dannybiesbol on Instagram):
“I think something needs to be done about the fans. It’s getting out of hand. People always yell stuff at me, but never about my mom. People know that my mom passed away in an accident. But anyways, we’re praying for him and his family, too. May God protect them and help him heal his heart.
“They’re always yelling things at me, but I don’t mind. But when it comes to my mom that’s where the line gets crossed.”
Earlier this year a fan was ejected from Progressive Field in Cleveland after heckling Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran over his 2022 suicide attempt, which he revealed in a Netflix documentary about the 2024 Red Sox. Last week, Pittsburgh Pirates righty Dennis Santana took a swing at a fan who he said “crossed the line” with his heckling. Santana was suspended four games.
Marte, 31, is having another terrific season, taking a .313/.416/.596 batting line and 15 home runs into Friday’s game with the Miami Marlins. It will be his first home game back at Chase Field since the incident.
This news was originally published on this post .
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