Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte slammed for not running on game-ending double play vs Cardinals
The Arizona Diamondbacks were probably not going to rally from a 5-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning on Wednesday.
But Ketel Marte's lack of hustle made it so that the team didn't have a chance.
With one out in the inning, Marte grounded into a game-ending double play in the series finale in St. Louis when he trotted down the first base line when it appeared he would have been safe had he run it out.
The Diamondbacks fell to 12-14 on the season with the loss, also losing two of the three games against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
More: Marred by inconsistency, Diamondbacks drop finale to Cardinals
Social media slammed Ketel Marte for his lack of hustle on the play:
ketel marte please run faster pic.twitter.com/U96MsEz4Um
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 24, 2024
I can’t understand why it’s so hard to run out a ground ball as hard as you can when you’re a big leaguer? https://t.co/u70XZOZOA6
— Jonathan Papelbon (@TheRealJPap58) April 24, 2024
Ketel Marte was not busting it out the box here…. pic.twitter.com/s6YuoypHyV
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) April 24, 2024
Would you bench Ketel Marte after this?pic.twitter.com/GGugOfVSnO
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) April 24, 2024
Ketel Marte was not exactly hustling pic.twitter.com/LGYNMhV93i
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 24, 2024
Is he hurt or something? That was pathetic, if healthy.
— ~ (@AdmAuAlmada) April 24, 2024
Any chance he thought there were two outs? Cuz this is a bad look.
— Matt Dawson (@mattdawson84) April 24, 2024
Teams need to start fining these guys.
— Mully (@mulosoraptor23) April 24, 2024
Bench him
— Dalton (@realjoeydaltonn) April 24, 2024
This is why they say to run THROUGH the bag when you're trying to beat out a throw to first.
— Laird Stuff (@LairdStuff) April 25, 2024
As a Cards fan, there’s no excuse for this lack of hustle, unless he was injured. He’d have been safe.
— POLICE LIVES MATTER👮🏻♀️👮🏾♀️👮🏼♀️👮🏻♂️ (@blulvsmatter) April 25, 2024
This was bad.
— Shark (@intheboombox) April 24, 2024
Some, however, did not have a problem with Ketel Marte's apparent lack of hustle on the play:
Eh he pinch hit so he wasn’t loose all the way, the game was basically over anyway. I don’t mind
— Thomas 🏀⚾️ (@ThomasBuckets78) April 24, 2024
Down 5-1 in the 9th on his supposed “day off,” no reason in risking injury. 135 more games to play.
— J.R. Curry (@TheJRCurry) April 24, 2024
The game was out of reach. If he runs to first base and pulls a hamstring on a meaningless double play and he’s out 2 months while down 4, the team is hurt more than him lazily running to first base. Now if that’s the 1st inning, I would bench him. Context is everything.
— J.R. Curry (@TheJRCurry) April 25, 2024
What do you make of Ketel Marte's effort on the play?
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte slammed for effort vs Cardinals
