CHICAGO (WGN) – A fan ejected from a Tuesday night matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox has been banned indefinitely by the MLB after he yelled a derogatory comment at a player.
The fan heckled Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte at Rate Field in Chicago, reportedly saying something about his late mother.
Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. Marte, who homered in the first inning of Arizona’s 4-1 win, was shown in tears and was visibly shaken on the Diamondbacks’ TV broadcast during a pitching change in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo put his arm around Marte and consoled him.
According to the Arizona Republic, Lovullo said the comments were made toward Marte while he batted in the top of the seventh. Lovullo and Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister asked to have the fan removed, and he was subsequently ejected from the stands, a Diamondbacks team spokesman said, according to the report.
Marte declined to comment through a team spokesman after Tuesday’s game, but shortstop Geraldo Perdomo spoke up, calling on Major League Baseball to do something about poor fan behavior.
“I don’t know who it was, but they’ve got to do something,” Perdomo said, the Republic reported. “We can’t continue to do that (expletive) here in MLB.”
Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported that the White Sox had indefinitely banned the 22-year-old fan from Rate Field. Citing a source, Rogers said the man was apologetic and remorseful, calling his actions inappropriate and his comments stupid. Nexstar’s WGN reached out to the White Sox for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The league has since banned the fan from all big league stadiums, a person confirmed to the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the punishment wasn’t announced by the league.
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.”
The Diamondbacks were also in Chicago, in town for a series against the Cubs, in late July 2017 when Marte’s mom died in a car accident, according to the Republic. He left the team to return to the Dominican Republic at the time, and Arizona placed him on the bereavement list.
That was in Marte’s third season in the big leagues and first season with the Diamondbacks. He’s since made two National League All-Star teams, in 2019 and 2024. He finished third in NL Most Valuable Player Award voting last season.
The White Sox and Diamondbacks conclude their three-game series at Rate Field on Wednesday afternoon, with Arizona going for the sweep.
This is the latest incident involving fans and MLB players this season. Last week, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana received a four-game suspension and was fined by the MLB after an altercation with a fan. Santana was in the bullpen when he was seen at one point leaping and swiping at the person. He declined to share what the fan said, but said they “crossed the line.”
In April, a fan was ejected after they “said something inappropriate” to Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran during a game in Cleveland. While Duran didn’t share exactly what the fan said, ESPN reports that he admitted it was the first time he had been taunted about the mental health struggles he opened up about in Netflix’s “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox.”
“We need better baseball fans,” Lovullo said Wednesday. “Baseball deserves better.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
