Ketel Marte Clarifies Silent Response to Diamondbacks Fans After Pregame Misunderstanding

Ketel Marte went 1-for-3 with a walk and faced some huge boos during his return to the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup following a 2-week absence.

Ketel Marte Clarifies Silent Response to Diamondbacks Fans After Pregame Misunderstanding

Ketel Marte (Image via X/@JustBB_Media)

Ketel Marte finally returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Following a two-week absence, the second baseman was back in the lineup on Monday. After the game, he clarified his silent response to the fans and claimed that he misunderstood a question regarding them in the pregame interview.

The Dominican Republic International had been out of action since the D-backs series against the Atlanta Braves. Despite traveling with the team to Boston, he did not show up for the game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

He was then placed on the restricted list. The next day, his agent expressed that he had a problem with his left knee and would undergo an MRI scan

Then on Thursday, he met with General Manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo. He was later placed on the 10-day injured list.

Before their game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, he was taken off the injured list and reinstated to the team. He then took part in a pregame interview and discussed his absence. During this, he was asked if he had any message for the D-backs fans.

The 32-year-old shockingly shook his head no. Check out a video regarding this incident below:

The home fans at Chase Field rained down heavy boos when he got his first at-bat. The boos got louder when he grounded out.

Marte eventually went 1-for-3 with a walk. He was left standing on deck as Gabriel Moreno grounded out for the final out, resulting in a 2-1 loss for the D-backs. Had Moreno beaten the throw, Marte could have gotten the chance to walk off the Phillies.

After the game, Marte said he was surprised by the boos. He then clarified his stance from earlier in the day and claimed he misunderstood the question regarding the fans.

Going back to the press conference when the question was made to me, I didn’t really quite understand the word that was used at that moment. But I’m never going to stop loving my fans, and that’s what I want them to understand.

Ketel Marte told the reporters as per MLB.com

Marte has been one of the top performers for the D-backs. His 1,173 appearances for the club are the second most of any player, just 21 behind franchise Hall of Famer Luis Gonzalez.

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Ketel Marte addresses his appearance at a casino during his absence from the team

Ketel Marte dominated the headlines following his absence from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He then faced backlash online after a photo of him at a casino went viral. On Monday, he addressed this situation as well.

Ketel Marte
Ketel Marte (Image via X/@UnderdogMLB)

Marte’s disappearance had already caused havoc on social media among the D-backs fans. During their game against the Cincinnati Reds, he was seen at a casino.

While manager Torey Lovullo waved it off and said he was free to do that, this did not sit well with the fans. Many slammed him for this behavior and urged the team to take some strict action.

In his conversation with the media, he explained that he had been injured before and the trip to the casino was something he does to have some fun.

I have been injured before. It’s something I do to have fun and to do something different in my life. Those are personal things.

Ketel Marte told the reporters

The switch-hitter, however, did express regrets about failing his manager with his initial no-show at Fenway Park against the Red Sox.

In that moment, I failed him because I didn’t talk with him and didn’t arrive to the stadium.

Ketel Marte said regarding Torey Lovullo

The D-backs will now look to put this behind them and look forward to the final month of action as September arrives. With their loss and the win of the San Diego Padres, they fell 0.5 games behind their division rivals for the final NL Wild Card spot.

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