Marte 'so grateful' to be voted All-Star starter for 3rd time

PHOENIX -- For the third time in his career, Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte will start for the National League in the All-Star Game.

Marte finished first among second basemen in the initial round of fan voting and Wednesday he was announced as the winner of the final round, easily besting the Dodgers' Tommy Edman.

It is the first time that a Diamondbacks player has won three fan elections, and Marte became the first NL second baseman to win consecutive fan elections since Chase Utley of the Phillies won five straight from 2006-10.

Marte missed a month of the season due to a hamstring strain, but has still managed to hit 17 home runs and put together a slash line of .296/.400/.583.

“It’s incredible,” Marte said. “I was out for one month, but I just worked hard. I know what kind of talent I have. I just want to thank everybody.”

The All-Star Game has always been important to Marte, who started at second base in 2019 and 2024. Last season, Marte got to bring his family with him to the game, which made it extra special.

“I would be happy to be with the other superstars over there in the National League,” Marte said 10 days ago. “For me it is very special. My kid, we had fun there [last year]. And to be in the clubhouse with [Shohei] Ohtani and all the other superstars was fun.”

The Diamondbacks pulled out all the stops to try to get Marte elected. Manager Torey Lovullo and third baseman Eugenio Suárez were among those who made video pleas to fans to vote for Marte.

Earlier this week, the Diamondbacks took over a local Chik-fil-A restaurant, with Lovullo and players like Alek Thomas, Randal Grichuk, Josh Naylor, Blaze Alexander and Ryan Thompson among those who served food and encouraged patrons to vote for Marte.

The Diamondbacks also passed out bags of “Ketel Corn” from the local Cactus Corn stand that is extremely popular at Chase Field.

Despite Edman playing in a much bigger market, Marte captured 70 percent of the vote to Edman’s 30.

“I’m very grateful,” Marte said. “Arizona is my home. What Arizona does for me and my family, I’m so grateful. I’m maybe not from the Dominican Republic anymore, I’m from Arizona now.”

Marte watched the All-Star selection show on TV in the clubhouse with his teammates, and the room erupted when he was announced as the starter.

“You are my family,” Marte told his teammates.

“He makes our team go,” Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly said. “He’s definitely a catalyst. When he goes, we go. He puts a lot of pressure on any pitcher he faces, he’s dangerous from both sides of the plate and he’s been really good defensively the last couple of years. When he’s locked in, he’s one of the best players in the league.”

In fact, for some of his teammates, there was simply no doubt Marte should be the starter.

“I mean, that's got to be the biggest no-brainer in the world,” first baseman/DH Pavin Smith said. “I mean, he's doing everything right -- hitting, playing defense, controlling the zone, walking, hitting for power. It's crazy. That 3-0 pitch he hit the other day, it was like the most perfect pitch you could possibly throw and he still hits a homer. It's pretty amazing.”

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who participated in the Chick-fil-A event, was an outspoken supporter.

“He's one of the best players in the league,” Pfaadt said. “The consistency that he shows up with every day is amazing and he's the reason that we win a ton of ballgames. So if there's anybody that should be in it, I think he's more than deserving.”