Marte finally returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup for their series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies, ending -- for now -- a mystery absence that had seen him miss more than two weeks of games. The pesky Diamondbacks somehow aren't buried in the brutal NL Wild Card hunt, but right when they needed their All-Star second baseman the most, he ditched them. In his return, he came across just as tone deaf as he did by his absence.
In offering no concrete explanation beyond calling his initial failure to show up Aug. 17 in Boston a "moment of frustration," Marte appeared before reporters after Monday's game wearing a hat with an unusual message: "May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way." Now, was this some sort of intentional statement? We don't always carefully plan out the text printed on our wardrobe when choosing an outfit, especially when said text is in one's second language. But in this case, making his first on-the-record appearance after a controversial stretch, maybe Marte should have at least considered it.
Because he's indeed burned bridges left and right. Marte was booed by his home fans, which some criticized out of concern that Marte's absence might have been driven by personal issues that haven't been disclosed. That is indeed still a possibility, although unlikely.
Had he originally requested a leave of absence due to private personal matters and gone on the bereavement list or something of that nature, he would have been supported and then cheered in his return. One day, Marte will no longer be an MLB player and he'll be shocked how quickly people forget about him. Even these past weeks, his team managed to stay in the playoff race without him.
The truth is, he's a very good yet very replaceable player. He'd be best off not prematurely proving to the Diamondbacks just how replaceable he is. More MLB: Former D'Backs Closer: Ketel Marte Benefits From MLB's Double Standard
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