The Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox closed out their series on Wednesday afternoon — one day after Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte was visibly upset on the field.
At the time, it was unclear what had happened in the seventh inning as Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was seen consoling Marte on the field. But after the game, we would learn that the incident stemmed from verbal abuse that crossed a line.
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Here’s what we know about the incident from Tuesday night at Rate Field.
The comments were about Marte’s late mother
Lovullo spoke to reporters after the game, and he said that Marte was upset because a fan had made remarks about his mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a car crash in 2017 in the Dominican Republic.
The incident took place during Marte’s at-bat
While we saw that Marte was in tears on the field as the Diamondbacks were making a pitching change in the seventh inning, footage would later show that Marte heard those remarks during his seventh-inning at-bat.
Marte, who was shaken by what he had heard, asked for time and glanced to the crowd and dugout. Marte would look up at the fan again after he popped out.
How did the White Sox respond?
Once the team found out what had happened, it worked with MLB to identify and punish the fan in question. Though the White Sox didn’t release the fan’s name, they said that the 22-year-old would be banned from all MLB ballparks indefinitely.
The team also displayed a message of support for Marte on the videoboard when he stepped to the plate in Wednesday’s game.
Marte declined to comment about the incident, but MLB did say in a statement via ESPN:
“We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan.”
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There’s just no place in the game for fans like that.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What did the White Sox fan say to Ketel Marte?