Starling Marte weighed retiring
Outfielder thought of quitting after wife died
Diamondbacks’ camp is underway and center fielder Starling Marte is a part of it. There was a time when he wasn’t sure that would be the case. After his wife, Noelia, died in May, Marte said he considered walking away from the game.
“My first thought,” Marte said during a conference call, speaking through interpreter Alexander Lorenzo, “was that I wanted to retire and didn’t want to play any more baseball.”
Marte, speaking with reporters for the first time since the start of camp, said his wife had fractured a bone in her foot and was being treated in the hospital when complications arose, causing her to suffer a fatal heart attack. She left behind her husband and their four children; the oldest is 10, the youngest is 1.
Marte said he is grateful to be back with teammates and to have his children with him in Arizona. His oldest, Smerling, has taken the loss the hardest, Marte said.
“Obviously, this is a very tough time for us,” he said. “But through God and I’ve been able to speak with a couple of pastors and priests back at our church and they’ve been able to help me out through this process.”
He said the more he spoke with his pastors the more comfortable he felt coming back to baseball.
The Diamondbacks know there is only so much they can do, but they are trying to help.
“How to cope and really go through that kind of tragedy, it’s something really tough,” second baseman Ketel Marte said. “Nobody ever gets over it very quickly.”
Ketel Marte would know. Three
years ago, he lost his mother to a car accident in the middle of the season. The Martes, who are not related, flew together to Arizona from the Dominican Republic two weeks ago on Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick’s private plate. Coping with loss was a subject they were able to bond over, Ketel Marte said.
“He’s helped me out throughout the entire process,” Starling Marte said. “He’s been there for me like a brother in these tough times.”
Starling Marte missed four days of workouts last week for unspecified reasons related to the league’s coronavirus testing protocols. Marte said he had been out as he was “awaiting results,” but did not say offer details beyond that.
Despite the absence, Marte said he feels good physically and is ready to start the season.
“He seems to be functioning every day at a very high level when it comes to his profession and that’s obviously a concern of ours,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “But behind the scenes we want to make sure that we are continuing to support him in any way possible.”
Note
Right fielder Kole Calhoun was not at the Diamondbacks’ workout on Sunday and has not participated in an intrasquad game in the three days since he was cleared to return following a positive test for COVID-19.
Manager Torey Lovullo said he was not able to provide details on Calhoun’s absence. Calhoun told reporters on Friday that he had alternated between positive and negative tests for about a week before testing negative twice late last week, thus clearing the way for him to return, per league protocols.
However, he also acknowledged to being curious to see the results of a test he took on Friday morning, the implication being that it, too, might come back positive.
Clubs have been guarded the past 10 days about what details they release pertaining to players’ absences from camp.
Lovullo said on Saturday the Diamondbacks had another test come back positive, but he did not reveal he identity of that player.