This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 52m ago
Ketel Marte lost the benefit of the doubt long before he showed up to the casino
There was Ketel Marte, in plain sight, hitting on a green surface.
Except this was no ballfield.
Wearing a black tee, red shorts and Jordan 4s, the Diamondbacks’ second baseman appeared mighty comfortable at a Talking Stick Casino blackjack table on Friday night . Normally, that wouldn’t have ruffled many feathers. Ballplayers are adults, free citizens, allowed to do whatever they please with their free time.
That was true for Marte, currently on the IL due to a knee issue . He’d already completed that day’s rehab work at the team’s Salt River spring training facility. It’s not abnormal for D-backs players to do their rehab work at the Salt River facility. It’s also not abnormal for those players to head home afterward, instead of driving to the game at Chase Field. In that respect, Marte’s conduct was ordinary.
But given his tumultuous and questionable behavior last week , the photos and videos of Marte wandering around Talking Stick during one of his team’s games were an optical dumpster fire.
The entire fiasco began last Monday, when the three-time All-Star didn’t show up to Fenway Park for the opening game of the club’s series against the Red Sox. He was a late scratch from the lineup due to the unexplained absence. Still in the dark about his status, Arizona put Marte on the restricted list. Communication between player and team was somewhere between truncated and nonexistent . One week later, clarity about specifics remains light. The whole thing has been bizarre, perplexing and concerning for someone who has struggled with mental health in the past .
Last season, Marte was similarly unreachable following the All-Star break. Arizona put him on the restricted list then as well , with a story about a break-in at Marte’s Phoenix-area home . The player himself was in the Dominican Republic during that time. He returned to the team in short order and appeared to reintegrate himself well enough , despite reports that some around the Snakes were frustrated with Marte and his willingness to take days off.
That context is important, as it paints a more complete picture of a player who has repeatedly failed to take responsibility for his actions — or, rather, his inaction. As such, Marte has lost both the benefit of the doubt and the respect of many in his clubhouse.
To be clear, while his decision to partake in a few games of chance is a tough look, it did little to worsen a reputation that was already in disarray. Marte’s decision to ghost his teammates during a pennant race and his failure to explain his whereabouts were far more damaging than any trip to the casino could be. Baseball culture and its daily grind place a high value on consistency and accountability. Marte, both recently and over the long term, has displayed neither of those things.
If there are significant mental health issues at play in this case, those should be treated with grace. The baseball world and society as a whole have grown more aware and accepting of such situations. That’s a good thing. But having a tough time does not excuse someone from conducting themselves with tact and respect.
As things stand, we’re left to conclude that Marte is disjointed, dumb or uncaring. Perhaps a combination of those. At the very least, he has struggled to understand that his actions have an impact on the people around him.
On the moral ladder of inexcusability, the crime of not showing up to work and failing to justify that absence is relatively low. Worse people have done far worse things. So too have worse ballplayers. Marte has broken no laws and just one team rule. And because he’s one of the most talented hitters on the planet, there is a path to, if not absolution, then at least forgiveness.
But Marte must apologize to his teammates and mean it. He must apologize to his bosses, manager Torey Lovello and GM Mike Hazen, folks who have repeatedly put their own reputations on the line in support of an individual who has not reciprocated in kind. Marte also owes some sort of apology to the fans, the people who pay his salary, enable his lifestyle and fund his hobbies.
Then, if he comes back and hits once again, all will be forgotten. He just has to be on a baseball field that time.
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