D-backs’ Ketel Marte speaks for first time about heckling incident

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte spoke for the first time about the heckling incident that left him in tears during the team’s game in Chicago earlier this week.

In an interview with Yancen Pujols, Marte said that the fan yelled, “I sent your mom a text last night” during his at-bat in the 7th inning.

“When everything happened with my mom, I was here in Chicago. I was in this city,” Marte explained in Spanish.

During the team’s win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, a fan made inappropriate comments about Marte’s mother, who died in a car crash in 2017. The comments brought Marte to tears as he was consoled by manager Torey Lovullo and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.

Major League Baseball confirmed the fan was banned from all big league stadiums. The White Sox organization also donned a sign at Wednesday’s game, reading “Baseball is family. The White Sox community supports Ketel Marte.”

“Yes, I think something needs to be done about the fans. It’s getting out of hand,” Marte added in the interview. “People always yell stuff at me, but never about my mom. People know that my mom passed away in an accident.”

Despite what happened, Marte said that he continues to pray for the fan and his family.

Some fans posted on Instagram asking others to wear pink on Friday night’s game and give a standing ovation to Marte during his first at bat.

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