Ketel Marte has a big heart, and it’s still broken. His mother died in a fatal car accident eight years ago, and the pain is still so close it can be triggered by the taunts of an imbecilic fan. The scene at Rate Field in Chicago on Tuesday was surreal and jarring and still playing out on many levels.
We are living in strange times. Rage is all the rage. Hate has become a rallying cry. Social media is a pit of divisiveness. It’s all seeping into the meritocracy of sports, and somehow, a 22-year-old spectator felt compelled to cull details from Marte’s past in order to weaponize against him.
He claims to be sorry. But in a video that shows security kicking him out of the game, he is acting in a much different way. Aloof and indifferent. Torey Lovullo nailed it when he used the word “pompous” to describe the fan. I wonder what his mother thinks of a son who uses a dead mother for his own amusement.
Meanwhile, Lovullo had his best moment of the season that night. His comforting of Marte on the baseball field was a powerful visual, confirming all of his best traits. Same with his postgame remarks, when Lovullo had trouble containing his emotions over what one of his players had endured. And finally, there is the latest video of Lovullo berating the imbecile in the seats behind him, showing the fiery side of the manager who is often deemed too soft.
Powerful stuff.
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“It’s one thing for a guy to say he loves his players and that he cares for his players,” Ryne Nelson said Thursday on MLB Radio. “But it’s another thing for a guy to show it …
“I think it speaks to his character and the way he wants to manage. He wants to form this bond, and that’s the guy you want to play for. That’s the guy you want to run through a brick wall for.”
Finally, Marte. The Diamondbacks star had already reached an impressive plateau before that night in Chicago. He was the National League’s leading vote getter at his position for the 2025 All-Star Game. His swagger, his talent and the destruction he caused during the 2023 postseason clearly earned him a level of national recognition that too often eludes Arizona’s best athletes.
Now, Marte is even bigger. He’s one of the most endearing players in baseball. To their credit, the White Sox felt compelled to honor him and stand with him. Their owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, sent a pair of handwritten notes to his locker, one of them written in Spanish. Having lost his own mother in 2020 after a weekslong battle with COVID-19, Karl Anthony-Towns tweeted out his support: “Somethings should never be said. Your mother is proud @ketelmarte, and so are we.” Hundreds of fans from across the world were so touched they made donations in his honor.
It will be a powerful scene at Chase Field on Friday when Marte comes to the plate for the first time. Lovullo critics will be muted for a while after witnessing a leader who was masterful in a terrible situation. And maybe this will be the incident that concretizes their bond and changes the trajectory of the season, proving yet again that a connected team is a dangerous team.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
Follow @danbickley
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