Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte visited a Phoenix-area casino whereas his crew performed at house Friday.
Instead of taking part in within the sport, which the D-backs misplaced 9-0 to the Cincinnati Reds, the MLB All-Star was hitting the tables on the Talking Stick Resort. The on line casino is positioned about half-hour from the crew’s house stadium, Chase Field.
Marte landed on the restricted checklist after he failed to point out up for final Monday’s sport in opposition to the Boston Red Sox with out notifying the crew. The crew later positioned him on the 10-day injured checklist as a result of he had irritation in his left knee.
Manager Plays It Down
Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo appeared unconcerned with Marte’s absence and on line casino go to whereas Friday’s sport was taking part in out.
“He’s free to do whatever he wants,” Lovullo stated. “That’s how I look at it. As long as he wakes up tomorrow morning and posts and gets his work done at Salt River (the team’s training facility), which I am certain he will, that’s all that matters to me right now.”
Lovulla stated injured gamers don’t must attend video games. He stated Marte got here in for damage therapy on Friday. Despite the official guidelines relating to sport attendance, baseball etiquette dictates that injured gamers are on the stadium, particularly for house video games.
The supervisor stated he “felt betrayed” when Marte missed Monday’s sport, based on Yahoo Sports.
Casino Visit Draws Criticism From Fans
The Diamondbacks are battling for a spot within the postseason. As of Monday, the squad was 11 video games again within the National League West, however solely two video games again within the wild card race.
Several photographs of the MLB star on the on line casino surfaced final week, with Marte showing to be having a beer whereas playing on the on line casino. Critics stated it was fallacious to be on the on line casino whereas his crew was taking part in close by.
“If he could be at the casino, he could’ve been at Chase Field with his Diamondbacks teammates,” one individual posted on social media. “I hope I never see him put on a Diamondbacks uniform again.”
Another fan posted:
Diamondbacks: “We’re in the middle of a tight playoff race, we need all of our star players to have any chance of winning this thing!”
Ketel Marte: https://t.co/HJrGGtfG6S pic.twitter.com/0y6uxBz1rW
— AT (@BaseballWRLD_) August 22, 2026
Neymar Incident Similar But Different
An identical incident lately performed out in worldwide soccer.
In July, Brazilian star Neymar Jr. drew the ire of followers after lacking a key matchup for his Santos FC membership. He was taking part in in a poker event in São Paulo.
Santos was taking part in in a giant sport in Venezuela in opposition to Universidad Central as a part of the Copa Sudamericana. However, the 34-year-old attacking midfielder was taking part in within the Brazilian Series of Poker.
Neymar’s case is a bit totally different. His crew was taking part in in a special nation and Santos had given him the break day to relaxation.
MLB Players And Poker
Beyond Marte, many different baseball gamers take pleasure in a while at casinos and on the poker desk. Greg Maddux grew up in Las Vegas and reportedly performed for prime stakes with Tom Glavine and John Smoltz on crew flights. He additionally hosted a charity poker event final 12 months in Las Vegas.
Cy Young winner, three-time all-star, and World Series champion Orel Hershiser has fairly a poker resumé. He was an everyday money sport participant on the Red Rock in Las Vegas. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets additionally hosted charity poker tournaments in 2025.
MLB was concerned in a playing controversy lately when Phillies star Bryce Harper created a Cameo video for a FanDuel sports activities bettor who’s suing the corporate.
The gambler alleges the corporate took benefit of his playing dependancy and that he misplaced tens of millions on the platform. Harper denies figuring out that FanDuel would use the video and notes that he has no relationship with the corporate.
