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Major League Baseball bans heckler indefinitely

Baseball notebook

Fans show support for Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte (4) during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

A fan who heckled Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Tuesday night has been banned indefinitely from all major league stadiums, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

Marte was seen in tears on the field after the spectator yelled a derogatory comment about Marte’s late mother during a seventh-inning at-bat in Arizona’s 4-1 win over Chicago Tuesday.

According to a White Sox spokesperson, the security staff at the ballpark relayed that the 22-year-old fan was “very apologetic and remorseful after the fact, and admitted to being very inappropriate and stupid with his comments.” Another person confirmed to the AP that Major League Baseball had banned the fan from all big league stadiums. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the punishment wasn’t announced by the league.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo and bench coach Jeff Banister asked for the fan to be removed from the game. 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.

“We need better baseball fans. Baseball deserves better.”

Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. Marte, who hit a solo home run in the first inning Tuesday night, was seen visibly upset during a pitching change in the bottom of the seventh as Lovullo put his arm around his player and consoled him.

“I just reacted as a dad would when I went out to change pitchers,” Lovullo said, according to the Arizona Republic. “I could see he was sobbing. It hurt.”

Marte declined to comment on the incident through a team official. Teammate Geraldo Perdomo said the fan “should be banned, for sure”

Elsewhere in MLB:

n Kutter Crawford had an off-field “accident” that requires season-ending surgery on his right throwing wrist. Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced the injury on Wednesday and said the 29-year-old wasn’t doing anything “irresponsible.” Crawford has been sidelined all season by a right-knee injury that he initially suffered in his third game of 2024, a season in which he went 9-6 with a 4.36 ERA in 33 starts, tied for the most starts in the American League. Crawford was one of baseball’s most durable pitchers in 2024 despite pitching most of the season with patellar-tendon discomfort.

n NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. encourages the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves to learn about Bristol Motor Speedway before the MLB Speedway Classic on August 2. The teams are set to play the first MLB game in Tennessee on a ballpark built inside the racetrack’s infield. Stenhouse also recommends walking up to the banked walls at the half-mile bullring before that game. Sean Casey played in an exhibition at Los Angeles Coliseum in 2008 that drew the biggest crowd for a baseball game. He says this is a great crossover event for baseball and NASCAR fans alike and a night the players will always remember.

n Jacob deGrom held Baltimore hitless until Colton Cowser’s leadoff single in the eighth inning, leading the Texas Rangers over the Orioles 7-0. The right-hander, who turned 37 on June 19, retired his first 18 batters before walking Jackson Holliday on a high and outside full count slider. He walked Ryan O’Hearn with two outs in the seventh, throwing four straight balls after getting ahead 0-2 in the count. Cowser grounded a single to right on a 1-1 fastball. DeGrom won his fourth straight decision to improve to 8-2, striking out seven and walking two. On Tuesday, Rangers starter Jacob Latz no-hit the Orioles into the seventh inning before giving up a hit in another Texas victory.

n Diego Segui, a pitcher who appeared in the first game in franchise history for the Seattle Pilots and was the starter for the Seattle Mariners in their first game, has died at 87. The Mariners said Segui died Wednesday. No additional details were released. Segui played for the Pilots in their first game on April 8, 1969, against the California Angels. He was the starter for the Mariners in their opener on April 6, 1977, in the Kingdome against the Angels. Segui pitched in 15 major league seasons with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox, in addition to both Seattle franchises.

n Ronald Acuña Jr. of the host Braves was announced as the first of the eight hitters who will compete in the All-Star Home Run Derby at Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 14. Acuña, who homered on the first pitch of his May 23 return to the Braves following a torn left ACL, will participate in the derby for the third time. He lost to New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso 20-19 in the semifinals in 2019 after opening with a 25-18 victory over Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell, then lost to Alonso 20-19 in the first round at Dodger Stadium in 2022.

n The St. Louis Cardinals have placed outfielder Jordan Walker on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Monday with appendicitis. The team announced Wednesday that Walker was first examined by the team’s medical staff after feeling discomfort before batting practice on Tuesday. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Walker got some imaging and results came back as early signs of appendicitis. Walker is expected to be able to resume baseball activities in four to five days. He is hitting .210 with three home runs and 23 RBIs in 55 games.

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