Ketel Marte, a promising player for the Arizona Diamondbacks, dedicated his achievements in the 2017 season to his late mother, Elpidia Valdez. After receiving a call-up from Triple-A Reno and hitting his 10th home run, he shared the moment’s significance with her, recalling her wish for him to achieve that milestone. Tragically, shortly after celebrating this achievement, Marte learned that his mother had passed away in a vehicle accident back in the Dominican Republic, profoundly impacting his life and career.
When I was playing softball in the Dominican with my friend, she saw me hit a long homer... One day, before I came to spring training, she said, 'I want 10 homers this year.' Now, I've got 10 homers. When I hit my last homer, I called her. She had watched the game. I said, 'Now you've got 10 homers, how about that?' She was crying.
It was definitely heartbreaking when we found out the news about his mother. I can't imagine what he went through, and I think about it often.
Collection
[
|
...
]