During the 7th inning of Tuesday night's game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox, a heckler appeared to cross the line by yelling something at second baseman Ketel Marte about his mother which brought the 2x All-Star to tears.
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The heckler of Arizona Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte at the White Sox game Tuesday night has been identified as Chad Wilson of Naperville, IL — seen wearing a Bears jersey during the incident.
It’s still unclear exactly what Wilson said but it’s been reported that it involved… pic.twitter.com/78aDM05fXs
— TMSPN.com (@sportsgossip) June 26, 2025
For those who don't know, Marte's mom, Elpidia Valdez, passed away in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said a fan in Chicago yelled something at Ketel Marte about his mother, who died in a car accident in 2017. Marte was visibly emotional and upset. The fan was ejected from the stadium. pic.twitter.com/HghYhR1uRh
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) June 25, 2025
Considering the severity of the situation, the MLB announced that the 22-year-old fan was ejected and now banned from all 30 ballparks.
"We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," MLB said in a statement.
And during an interview with "Danny Beisbol" on Thursday, Marte retold the events explaining exactly what the fan yelled (translated from Spanish):
Ketel Marte says the fan yelled “I sent your mom a text last night”
Marte said it crosses the line when a fan speaks about his late mother, especially in Chicago because that’s where he was when she passed in 2017 pic.twitter.com/M9FJ9GuOTU
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 27, 2025
"What happened was in the seventh inning, I came to bat. I'm ready at the plate and I hear this fan shouting. He was on top of the dugout," Marte said. "He yelled at me, saying stuff about my mom. He was like, 'I sent your mom a text last night.' When everything happened with my mom, I was here in Chicago. I was in this city."
In a clip that was posted later, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was seen yelling back at the fan from the dugout.
New video show Diamondbacks manager Lovullo cursing off the White Sox fan while informing him that Ketel Marte's mom had d*ed
Does this mean the fan didn't know?
If that's the case shld he had been lifetime banned for being an idiot?
NO ONE has reported the exact quote he said pic.twitter.com/sGjohSJ2E6
— Gunz (@TheGunzShow) June 26, 2025
"Dumb f***," Lovullo screamed back at the fan. "His mom died, you dumb f***. Dumb f***."
Here’s the initial explanation from @Dbacks Manager Torey Lovullo re the incident in Chicago where a @whitesox fan verbally abused Ketel Marte. pic.twitter.com/UZnwssmxfz
— Todd Walsh (@ToddWalsh) June 25, 2025
All in all, now that the details have been brought to light, fans are now questioning the intentions of the banned White Sox heckler. That is, it may appear as if there's a chance the fan did not know about Marte's mother passing away, for this could be a "your mom" joke that was horribly executed.
Even so, Marte understandably was shaken up by this all, considering how he has been impacted by such a tragic loss in his family.
Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo stuck up for his teammate when speaking to reporters about Marte, who ended Tuesday's game 2-for-4 with a home run in the 4-1 win.
"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... Everybody knows Ketel lost his mom. She was the world to him."
Related: Guardians Fan Ejected For Heckling Red Sox Star Jarren Duran Over Suicide Attempt Admission
