Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte said a fan in Chicago who brought him to tears during a game against the White Sox this week shouted that he messaged his late mother the previous night.
The two-time All-Star revealed what was said during an interview with Spanish-language journalist Yancen Pujols.
“A fan was up on the dugout shouting things about my mother,” he said. ‘He was like, ‘Last night I sent a message to your mother.’”
Marte was seen in tears on the field after the 22-year-old spectator yelled a derogatory comment about Marte’s late mother during a seventh-inning at-bat in Arizona’s 4-1 win over Chicago on Tuesday night. Major League Baseball banned the fan indefinitely from all stadiums the following day.
Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. He said he’s used to being taunted, but had never been heckled about his mom. He said what made it more painful for him was the Diamondbacks were in Chicago to play the Cubs when she died.
“We have to do something about the fans; they’re going too far,” he said. ‘They always shout things about me, but not about my mother. Everyone knows that my mother died in an accident. And nothing.
“We’re praying for him, for the guy who shouted, and for his family, you know? May God protect him. May God protect him and cleanse his heart. They always shout things at me but I don’t pay attention, but when they talk about my mother, it’s a different story.”
According to a White Sox spokesperson, the security staff at the ballpark relayed that the 22-year-old fan was “very apologetic and remorseful after the fact, and admitted to being very inappropriate and stupid with his comments.” Another person confirmed to the AP that Major League Baseball had banned the fan from all big league stadiums. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the punishment wasn’t announced by the league.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo and bench coach Jeff Banister asked for the fan to be removed from the game. Before Wednesday’s series finale, Lovullo said he “had little bit of an interaction with the fan” as he was yelling at Marte.
“He wasn’t getting it and was very pompous, and it didn’t sit right with me,” Lovullo said. “It was just a gross comment you wouldn’t say about anybody, let alone someone who lost their mom.
“We need better baseball fans. Baseball deserves better.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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