Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was visibly upset on the field Tuesday night when a fan at the Chicago White Sox’s Rate Field allegedly yelled something about his late mother.
The 31-year-old All-Star heard the taunt during his at-bat in the top of the seventh inning.
Marte was consoled by teammates and his manager Torey Lovullo as he fought back tears when he took the field for the bottom of the inning.
Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
The fan was ejected, according to The Arizona Republic, after Lovullo and D-backs bench coach Jeff Banister requested him to be removed from the stadium. The fan was banned indefinitely from attending White Sox home games, the team reportedly told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers on Wednesday.
After the game, Lovullo said he heard what the fan said during Marte’s at-bat — which came hours after the star second baseman hit a home run in the top of the first.
“[Marte] put his head down, and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure,” Lovullo said, via the Arizona Republic.
“I could see he was sobbing. It hurt. [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.'”
D-backs shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, a fellow Dominican, called for the fan to be disciplined by MLB.
“That can’t happen,” Perdomo said. “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. I don’t know who it was, but they’ve got to do something. We can’t continue to do that **** here in MLB … he should be banned, for sure. Everybody knows Ketel lost his mom. She was the world to him.”
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