Ketel Marte recently revealed the details of what went on earlier this week when a White Sox fan yelled at the Diamondbacks second baseman about his late mother.
The 22-year-old fan, who was banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks on Wednesday, was ejected during the top of the seventh inning in the Diamondbacks’ 4-1 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night while Marte could be seen in tears after the fan heckled him during a pitching change.
During an interview with “Danny Beisbol” on Thursday, Marte explained in Spanish — but was translated through subtitles — that the fan yelled, “I sent your mom a text last night.”
The 31-year-old Dominican’s mom, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
“What happened was in the seventh inning, I came to bat. I’m ready at the plate and I hear this fan shouting. He was on top of the dugout,” Marte said. “He yelled at me, saying stuff about my mom. He was like, ‘I sent your mom a text last night.’ When everything happened with my mom, I was here in Chicago. I was in this city.”
Marte said he has dealt with heckling fans before, but had yet to run into a comment about his mom. He said fan behavior is “getting out of hand.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was quick to console Marte, who looked distraught, after the incident. He had initially heard the comments himself, but did not want to repeat what was said to the media.
Footage was later revealed of Lovullo screaming expletives at the fan, who was seated only a few rows behind the dugout.
“Dumb f–k,” Lovullo appeared to say while pointing toward the fan. “His mom died, you dumb f–k. Dumb f–k.”
“We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan,” MLB said in a statement.
Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, who was also there in the moment, called for a ban following the game.
“That can’t happen,” Perdomo said of the fan’s alleged actions. “Everybody knows how Ketel is. He’s fun. He plays the game hard. I feel bad for him. I feel mad about it.”
Marte is in his ninth season with Arizona and his 11th in the league since his 2015 debut with the Mariners.
This year, he is batting .313 with a 1.012 OPS to follow his big 2024 campaign when he won his first Silver Slugger award and second All-Star nod.
He also came in third for NL MVP behind Francisco Lindor and winner Shohei Ohtani.