Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte broke down in tears on the field during Tuesday night’s game in Chicago after a fan made derogatory comments about his late mother.
A team spokesman said the fan was immediately ejected from the stadium. The offending fan has been banned ‘indefinitely’ from future games at Rate Field, the team said on June 25.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo tried to console the two-time All-Star during a pitching change in the bottom of the seventh inning of the June 24 contest against the White Sox, putting his arm around Marte as he was wiping away tears from his eyes.
‘I just reacted as a dad would when I went out to change pitchers,’ Lovullo said. ‘I could see he was sobbing. It hurt.’
Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
‘That can’t happen,’ Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo told the Arizona Republic after the game. ‘Everybody knows how Ketel is. He’s fun. He plays the game hard. I feel bad for him. I feel mad about it. I hope MLB can do something with that guy.’
Marte had homered earlier in the game as the Diamondbacks went on to win 4-1.
Lovullo said he heard what the fan said as Marte was walking back to the dugout after making the final out of the seventh inning.
‘I looked right at him when I heard,’ Lovullo said. ‘I looked right at him and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure.’
Lovullo said he noticed Marte was having trouble managing his emotions as he prepared to go back out on the field and was still shaken during the pitching change in the bottom of the inning.
‘(I told him), ‘I love you and I’m with you and we’re all together and you’re not alone. 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.’’
When Marte came to the plate in Wednesday’s series finale, the outfield scoreboard showed a message of support.
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