Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte pleaded ignorance when asked about the questionable hat he wore during Monday’s media scrum after home fans booed him in his first game back from a two-week absence.
“I didn’t know what (the hat) was,” Marte said Tuesday, according to The Athletic’s Johnny Flores Jr.
Following Monday’s 2-1 loss to the Phillies, Marte fielded questions while wearing a hat that read, “May the bridges I burn light the way.”
The three-time All-Star added Tuesday that his hat choice had nothing to do with Chase Field fans booing him.
“I didn’t know I had that hat on,” Marte said. “I didn’t know, I just put it on.”
Marte returned to the D-Backs on Monday following a strange couple of weeks, which included the three-time All-Star being placed on the restricted list after he no-showed for a game against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 17.
Marte was then spotted at a casino in Phoenix while the Diamondbacks played a home game against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 21, just one day after Arizona had placed him on the injured list with a knee issue.
The 12-year veteran appeared to express remorse for his mistakes, explaining during a press conference ahead of Monday’s game that he planned to “stand in front of my teammates like a man” and apologize.
On Tuesday, D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo downplayed Marte’s hat choice, saying he wanted to move forward.
“I dunno, I wanna move past this Ketel stuff as quickly as possible,” Lovullo said. “And I think if you chop up those words, maybe he’s taking some accountability. Like, he feels like he’s done some things and he wants to get better. That’s how I read it.”
Marte is under contract with the D-Backs until the end of the 2031 season.
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