Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is speaking out for the first time since a fan’s comment about his late mother brought him to tears, resulting in the fan being indefinitely banned from all MLB ballparks.
Marte — in an interview with Yancen Pujols translated from Spanish in a post by Instagram’s @dannybeisbol — said the fan yelled about his mother Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car crash in the Dominican Republic, as he went to bat in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s game in Chicago against the White Sox.
“He was like, ‘I sent your mom a text last night,’” said the 31-year-old MLB All-Star, noting that he had also been in Chicago at the time of the crash.
Marte shook his head in disgust during the at-bat and — after popping the ball out — looked toward the stands as he walked to the dugout.
Later, in the bottom half of the inning, he broke down and wiped away tears on the field as shortstop Geraldo Perdomo comforted him and Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo put his arm around him.
Lovullo told reporters after the game that he heard the fan’s remarks but opted not to repeat them, emphasizing that fans can be “nasty” and “go too far sometimes,” so he’s got to protect his players.
The emotional moment initially sparked mass outrage from the baseball world, with many saying the fan crossed the line. The extent of the fan’s knowledge about Marte or his family is unclear.
The fan, a 22-year-old who was reportedly later apologetic and remorseful after making his comments, was ejected from the game at the request of members of Arizona’s coaching staff.
Marte told Pujols that “something needs to be done” about fan behavior because it’s “getting out of hand,” adding that comments about his mother cross the line.
He said people “always yell stuff” at him, but never about his mother, and said that people know she passed away in an accident.
Still, he said, he’s sending prayers to both the fan and his family.
“May God protect them and help him heal his heart,” he said.
The incident led people to make over $11,000 in donations in Marte’s mother’s name, per MLB.com, while the White Sox showed love to the Diamondbacks star with a message on the team’s video board during Wednesday’s game. It read: “Baseball is family. The White Sox community supports Ketel Marte.”
