Ketel Marte stepped into the box for the first time since his restricted-list stint and got exactly what you'd expect: a wave of boos loud enough that reporters on hand said there were clearly more of them than cheers. The Diamondbacks second baseman had gone missing on the team in Boston, showing up at the team hotel but never making it to Fenway Park for a game against the Red Sox, a no-show that got him placed on the restricted list before he was later shifted to the injured list with left knee inflammation.
Ketel Marte was greeted with lots of boos as he took his first at-bat tonight.
The knee injury gave the situation a medical explanation on paper, but it never really covered for the missing days, and Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall had called the whole thing 'a complete mystery' while it was unfolding. So when reporters asked Marte postgame if he had a message for the fans who'd just booed him, he didn't offer one — he shook his head no, full stop, an answer that did nothing to cool things off (2094558052913398218, 2094572298929934688).
He tried to walk it back the next morning, saying he'd misunderstood the question and that he's 'never going to stop loving' Diamondbacks fans (2094664771790365126). By the time he took the field again, he was wearing a hat with a message of his own.
Ketel Marte wore a hat reading "may the bridges I burn light the way" after getting booed by Diamondbacks fans in his first game following a two-week absence (via @NickKingSports)
'May the bridges I burn light the way' is a bold pick of hat for a guy two days removed from a home crowd booing him, and it read to a lot of people like Marte doubling down instead of smoothing things over. It's also not the first time he's gone missing on a team with a flimsy explanation trailing behind him — a 2023 no-show against the Yankees was pinned on illness before it came out that Marte had simply assumed a rainout and stayed at the hotel (2094537002192429336).
"Someone's giving him bad advice somewhere along the way." Ketel Marte should've been "as remorseful as humanly possible" when taking questions from the media, says @AJPierzynski12.
AJ Pierzynski didn't hold back on the messaging, saying someone was clearly giving Marte bad advice and that he should've been as remorseful as humanly possible in front of the cameras. Torey Lovullo, for his part, praised the progress Marte's made since coming back but stopped short of promising this doesn't happen again (2094572217552019857) — not exactly a ringing endorsement from his own manager.
Ketel Marte's teammates already know who he is, regardless of how his apology was delivered, says @ErikKratz31. "You can't pull the blinds over people."
Marte reportedly told teammates he took full responsibility and planned to stand in front of them 'like a man' to apologize (2094553022890217748), and Erik Kratz's read is that the clubhouse isn't holding it against him — you can't fool the guys who actually know you, in his words. The fans are a different story, and after a shaken head and a burn-the-bridges hat, Marte's got more convincing to do than a locker room apology covers.