It was unclear what upset Marte until after the game, when Arizona manager Torey Lovullo and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo revealed to reporters that a fan at the White Sox’s stadium had yelled something at Marte and referenced his late mother.
Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, was tragically killed in a car accident eight years ago in the Dominican Republic.
The fan who caused Marte to break down was ejected from the game, MLB.com’s Casey Drottar reported.
Lovullo did not repeat exactly what the fan said to Marte, but was visibly shaken while describing the interaction to reporters.
“It was a terrible moment. Fans are nasty and fans go too far, sometimes,” Lovullo told reporters. “I love my players and I’m going to protect them.”
“I looked right at (Marte) when I heard,” Lovullo added. “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.”
The incident also angered Marte’s teammates.
“That can’t happen,” Perdomo said 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 (expletive) here in MLB.”
Perdomo also said that the fan “should be banned for sure.”
Amid the unfortunate incident, Lovullo made sure to remind Marte that his team will always have his back.
“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.’”
The Diamondbacks won the game 4-2 thanks in part to a solo home run from Marte in the first inning.
After finishing third in NL MVP voting last season, Marte has continued his strong play this season and is slashing .320/.424/.608 with 15 home runs in just 52 games.
