Fan Ejected at Rate Field After Heckling Ketel Marte Over Mother’s Death
Ketel Marte appeared visibly emotional during a pitching change Tuesday night at Rate Field.
As the Diamondbacks waited for a reliever to jog in from the right-field bullpen, Marte stood near the pitcher’s mound and had to be consoled by manager Torey Lovullo. Despite Lovullo’s arm around his shoulder, Marte looked away, unable to make eye contact. Moments later, he dropped to his knees behind second base with tears streaming down his face.
The emotional moment stemmed from a fan yelling a comment about Marte’s late mother, who passed away in a car accident in 2017, during an at-bat in the seventh inning. At the request of manager Torey Lovullo and bench coach Jeff Banister, the fan was ejected from the stadium and later banned from returning.
“I could see he was sobbing. It hurt,” Luvullo told the Arizona Republic after the game. “[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.’”
Ketel Marte was in tears after a fan shouted something regarding his late mother that passed away in a car accident in 2017. Manager Torey Lovullo and Geraldo Perdomo consoled him after the incident
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) June 25, 2025
The fan was removed from the ballpark. pic.twitter.com/gSyJpElalx
Lovullo added that he didn’t want to repeat the comment, but when he heard it, he could tell it had an “immediate impact” on Marte.
Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo called for the fan to be banned after the game.
“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 shit here in MLB.”
Leading up to that moment, things had been going well for Marte. In the first inning, he blasted a Jordan Leasure fastball 401 feet for his 15th homer of the season, the first of two hits on the night for the two-time All-Star.
The Diamondbacks would go on to win the game 4-1.