Arizona’s victory over the host Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night was marred after a fan’s insults about Ketel Marte’s late mother left the Diamondbacks second baseman in tears.
Marte was visibly upset after the incident, which took place when he came to bat at the top of the seventh inning. The 31-year-old’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in 2017 in the Dominican Republic.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvollo put his arm around Marte and talked with him during a pitching change while the White Sox were batting. Lovullo said he heard the comment but declined to repeat what was said when asked by reporters after the game. Lovullo and bench coach Jeff Banister contacted security at Rate Field and asked for the fan to be ejected, a Diamondbacks spokesperson told the Arizona Republic.
“I looked right at [Marte] 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 added: “I just reacted as a dad would. 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.’”
Marte declined to speak to reporters after the 4-1 victory, during which he homered and went 2-for-4 to raise his batting average to .320.
His teammate, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, also consoled Marte during the game and said the fan should be banned.
“That can’t happen,” Perdomo told reporters 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. I don’t know who it was, but they’ve got to do something. We can’t continue to do that … here in MLB.”
Lovullo, who has been Diamondbacks manager since 2017, paid tribute to Marte.
“I’ve known Ketel for nine years, and he’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships, as well. Some really, really tough moments in his life, and I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him.”
