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Ketel Marte had an unexpected emotional moment during the Arizona Diamondbacks' 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Tuesday. The infielder was in tears after a fan from the stands made inappropriate comments about his late mother.
During his at-bat in the seventh inning, Ketel Marte heard a White Sox fan direct derogatory remarks at him. The chirping seemed to continue as Marte exchanged glances with the fan. Later, as he went out to the field, Marte was in tears with Torey Lovullo consoling the slugger during a pitching change.
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Lovullo explained that the fan had made comments towards his lae mother, Elpida Valdez, who died in a car accident in 2017.
“I just reacted as a dad would when I went out to change pitchers,” Lovullo said. “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.’”
Lovullo didn't repeat the exact nature of the words used by the fan. However, the team confirmed later that the Dbacks manager and bench coach Jeff Banister requested for the fan to be removed.
Ketel Marte's teammate Geraldo Perdomo expressed his displeasure over the incident
Dbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo had stern words regarding the fan's heckling of his teammate. He called for the fan to be restricted from other games.
“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 (expletive) here in MLB. He should be banned, for sure.”
Ketel Marte is arguably the most important hitter in the Dbacks lineup. The Silver Slugger winner is hitting at .320 for the season with 32 RBIs and 15 home runs. His 15th homer came in the first inning of the game, starting the scoring for his team.
