Fan banned by MLB after heckling Dbacks’ Marte to tears with barb about late mother, AP source says

A fan who heckled Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Tuesday night has been banned indefinitely from all major league stadiums, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

Marte was seen in tears on the field after the spectator yelled a derogatory comment about Marte’s late mother during a seventh-inning at-bat in Arizona’s 4-1 win over Chicago.

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.”

Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. Marte, who hit a solo home run in the first inning Tuesday night, was seen visibly upset during a pitching change in the bottom of the seventh as Lovullo put his arm around his player and consoled him.

“I just reacted as a dad would when I went out to change pitchers,” Lovullo said, according to the Arizona Republic. “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 comment on the incident through a team official. Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said the fan “should be banned, for sure” and called for MLB to intervene.

“That can’t happen,” Perdomo said. “We can’t continue to do that … here in MLB.”

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AP freelancer Matt Carlson contributed from Chicago.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb