Ketel Marte received a rousing standing ovation in his first game back in Arizona with the Diamondbacks after an unfortunate incident with a heckler in Chicago while playing the White Sox.
Marte was visibly shaken after the encounter with a fan and it soon became clearly apparent why. The fan made a derogatory reference to Marte’s mother, who passed away in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. The Diamondbacks and the entire baseball community rallied around Marte while the fan in question has been banned from attending games in the future.
Marte made his return to his home fans on Friday night and when he came up to the plate for the first time, it was a tremendous scene.
The Diamondbacks home broadcast intentionally laid out so that fans at home could hear Marte’s introduction as well as the huge cheers that came from the stands. Many fans in the crowd had signs in support of the All-Star second baseman and others were wearing shirts for him.
Then, after staying silent through the introduction, Diamondbacks announcer Steve Berthiaume had a simple but powerful message.
We love you, Ketel 🩷 pic.twitter.com/ztWoOuO2Ov
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 28, 2025
“Arizona stands with you Ketel Marte, a tremendous ovation here on pride night from the Diamondback fans,” Berthiaume said.
Sometimes less is more when it comes to capturing the power of a moment in sports. And credit goes to Berthiaume and the entire Diamondbacks broadcast for letting the moment breathe and for fully soaking in the reaction to Marte’s first at-bat at home after the unfortunate incident. It was the perfect way to handle the moment