Ketel Marte was crying because a fan at a Chicago White Sox game shouted a derogatory and hurtful comment about his late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. The comment was so painful that it visibly upset Marte, leading to tears on the field during the game. Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo consoled him, and the fan was ejected and banned indefinitely from MLB stadiums following the incident. Marte expressed that although he is used to being heckled, this was the first time someone targeted his mother, and it deeply hurt him. His teammates and MLB condemned the behavior and took immediate action to prevent such incidents.