Marcus Semien on pace to break MLB leadoff hitter RBI record
Over a year ago, Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers franchise hit a crossroads.
Both the manager and the general manager were fired as the team was on pace to finish with what would end up being its sixth consecutive losing season. Now, thanks to one of the best offenses in baseball, led by Major League Baseball’s most expensive middle infield and some new additions to the pitching staff, they have a shot at the first World Series in team history.
The turnaround from a year ago for the Rangers is the stuff sports movies are made of.
Last Friday, the team matched their 2022 win total of 68. Going into Tuesday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Rangers had the second-best record in the American League at 72-53 behind the Baltimore Orioles, which were 77-47.
The Rangers also had the third-best home record in MLB at 42-24 in games played in Arlington. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers (43-21) and Atlanta Braves (42-22) held a better record in their own stadiums.
The Rangers went 12-2 from the August 1st trade deadline through August 15 after acquiring some key pieces, including three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer from the Mets. But they took a step back, losing five straight before facing the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Tuesday. The Rangers are in a tight race with the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
Players up and down the Rangers’ 26-man roster have stepped up when called on. Yet the team’s success can in large part be attributed to the half-a-billion-dollar middle infield tandem of American League All-Star starters Semien, 32, and 29-year-old Corey Seager.
The pair has earned every penny they signed for in the winter of 2021. Semien inked a seven-year, $175 million contract and Seager a 10-year pact for $325 million.
Playing shortstop, Seager ranks near the top of the Majors in OPS, slugging, batting average and on-base percentage for all hitters. Semien, the Rangers’ second baseman and team captain, bats in front of him in the leadoff spot.
He has played in 253 straight games dating back to May 12th of last year. Over the past three seasons, Semien has missed only one game.
“He has a killer instinct,” Rangers general manager Chris Young told MLBbro.com.
“He is aggressive to kick the game off and puts on a show from the start. With Seager behind him, it makes it that much tougher to pitch to him.”
Case in point: On August 14, in a 12-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels, Semien drove in a season-high five runners, three by way of his 19th homer of the year.
Between May and June of this year, Semien reached base in a career-high 33 consecutive games, grinding out a 25-game hitting streak over the time that ended as the third longest in club history.
“My goal is always the same, swing at strikes and get on base,” Semien told MLBbro.com.
This season for Semien could end up as one of the greatest ever for a second baseman in league history, competing with his own record-breaking 2021 when he hit an MLB-record 45 homers for the Blue Jays and won the 2021 MLBbro Player of the Year award.
He is the front-runner for both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards and is on pace to finish with 107 RBI. That would be the most in Major League history for a leadoff hitter, passing Charlie Blackmon’s 103 runs driven in 2017.
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