The White Sox were scared off of Starling Marte because of gun incident

Typically, when a team gets scared off of a player, it’s because of a fear the player may not pan out or won’t be worth the effort. In the case of the White Sox and Starling Marte, it was because of a gun.

A story posted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details the unusual circumstances surrounding the scouting process of Marte. The White Sox had the first big opportunity to sign the then-teenage Marte.

As the Post-Gazette describes it, Marte “dazzled” the White Sox scout. However, a former street-agent for Marte showed up claiming the baseball player had been stolen from him.

The young star outfielder was signed by the Pirates just a few weeks after the White Sox passed. In fact, the Pirates signed him to a deal worth $15,000 more than the White Sox offer.

Before the start of the 2014 season, Pittsburgh re-signed Marte to a six-year $31 million deal.

Marte quickly climbed through the Pirates farm system and by 2012 was with the big league club. He’s turned into a key player for a Pirates team that will reach the postseason for the third time in a row this season.