The fan who heckled Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte about his late mother has been banned from future games at Chicago’s Rate Field, the White Sox announced Wednesday.
The fan, who is 22, was ejected from Tuesday night’s game at the request of Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and bench coach Jeff Banister, per the Arizona Republic.
Per ESPN, the fan reportedly was very apologetic and admitted to being very inappropriate with his comments.
Marte belted a solo homer in the first inning of Tuesday’s 4-1 win. He was batting in the seventh when the remarks were made about his mother Elpidia Valdez, who died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
Luvollo put his arm around Marte and talked with him during a pitching change while the White Sox were batting.
The manager said he heard what the fan said but declined to repeat it.
“(Marte) put his head down, and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure,” 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.'”
Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo also consoled Marte during the pitching change. Perdomo was angry about the incident, as he told reporters afterward.
“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.
“(The fan) should be banned, for sure.”
–Field Level Media
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