Former Diamondback Andy Marte dies in car crash

Former Diamondbacks’ infielder, Andy Marte has died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic, according to reports. Marte, who was 33, ended his major-league career with the Diamondbacks in 2014. Though he spent most of the season with the Reno Aces, playing 126 times for them and hitting .329, he was called up at the trade deadline that season, as a short-term replacement for Martin Prado, after Prado was dealt to the New York Yankees. He was only up for a week, but it was a wild one.

For in his first major-league bat since 2010 on July 31, Marte came off the bench to hit a two-run homer (above) off Jeff Locke of the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving the D-backs a lead as they went on to win, 7-4. He also had a walk-off plate appearance. On August 3, also against the Pirates, he came up in the bottom of the 10th inning, with one out and runners on the corners. Marte hit into a potential double-play, but Nick Ahmed inadvertently blocked the throw to first as he slid into second, allowing Tuffy Gosewisch to scurry home from third with the winning run (below).

It wasn’t enough to keep Marte up here, and on August 7, he was designated for assignment, being replaced by a young prospect who’d make his debut the following day: Jake Lamb. In six games for the Diamondbacks, Marte was 3-for-16 with that home-run. Overall in his major-league career, which lasted from 2005-14 with Atlanta, Cleveland and Arizona, Marte appeared in 308 games, with a line of .218/.276/.358 and 21 home-runs. In 2015 and 2016, Marte played for the KT Wiz in Korea, batting .312 for them in 206 games. Below, is the post-game interview after he hit that home-run for the D-backs.