Ketel Marte’s return to Chase Field was supposed to close a difficult chapter for the Arizona Diamondbacks. But his first at-bat became a reminder that the fans are yet to move on. The boos suppressed the cheers when his name was announced. The frustration from his unexplained absence was refueled by his viral exchange with the media before the game. While Marte was hoping to turn the page, the fans made their own statement. 

“Ketel Marte loudly booed by the Diamondbacks fans, which goes louder when he grounds out,” Bob Nightengale shared a short clip on X.

The D’backs were hosting the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday. It was the first time Marte was on the roster since his no-show against the Boston Red Sox. And before the series opener, the reporters asked him if he had a message for the fans. The 32-year-old remained silent and just shook his head on either side to reflect “no.” 

This didn’t sit well with the fans. After his controversial absence, it was his first and probably the biggest opportunity to address the fans who have stood by him in the past. And they retaliated in their own language. And it sounded worse when Marte grounded out on a 1-1 changeup off Aaron Nola during his first at-bat. 

He went 1-for-3 and managed a walk in the 6th, then a single in the 8th. But he couldn’t put anything on the scoreboard. And the Phillies won 2-1 in the first game. 

But after the loss, Ketel Marte tried to clarify his gesture from earlier. 

“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,” Marte claimed. “I’m never going to stop loving my fans, and that’s what I want them to understand.”

The disappointment was quite apparent on his face. And his manager tried to have his back. 

“I know that he loves the fans. I know that he picks up on their energy,” Tory Lovullo said during the postgame. “He pays attention to what the fans say and do in love and support of him. Maybe he didn’t answer the question the way he would have if he had a chance to really sit down and say what he wanted to say. But I know he loves his fans.”

He acknowledged that Marte is an emotional person. And he is convinced that the loyalists will slowly understand him, like the way he has come to understand him over a decade. But the fans are not quite there yet.

Why the frustration went beyond one missing game

It all started during the series against the Red Sox. They wrapped up the series in Atlanta, and the team was in Boston. Marte was on the roster and scheduled to play that Monday. But before the game, he was nowhere to be found. They tried to communicate with him, but Lovullo received very little insight from his player. 

The D’backs had to go with a replacement, and they lost the game. What made it worse is that the franchise had no idea if Ketel Marte was even in Boston. And this was the second time in two years that he had gone AWOL. He had missed the St. Louis Cardinals series last year right after the All-Star break. 

His agent later offered a statement citing “personal issues” and informed that he would be going through an MRI on his knee. 

There were mixed reactions from the fans and from the insiders. While many were concerned about the 2x Silver Slugger, many refused to see any justification in his non-communication. 

Lovullo himself said that he felt betrayed and it was a “whole different type of pain and frustration.”

But it spiralled further down from there. The D’backs shifted him from the restricted list to the injured list, and he was scheduled for rehab. However, some images surfaced online, showing Marte sitting at a roulette table at Talking Stick Resort casino in Scottsdale. 

Again, people had mixed opinions about his action. Some people tried to defend him, saying he didn’t commit a crime and it is not mandatory to remain with the team while recovering. But many of them were far less forgiving and were bashing him left and right. 

Eventually, the team had a long conversation with the player, and the manager wanted to move past the incidents. And Lovullo was hoping that the fans might do the same. Unfortunately, a good number of fans are still sour about how the player treated his team. And they let their feeling known without much hesitation. 

The Diamondbacks are still struggling to secure a playoff spot. They are 0.5 games behind the Wild Card race with a 73-66 record. Hopefully, Ketel Marte and the team will have better outings in the remaining season.