Marcus Semien Is a Real-Life Iron Man

Marcus Semien has proven to be a bona fide iron man in MLB. Semien played in every single game last year, both in the regular and the postseason. For those who don’t know, Semien is a shortstop and second baseman for the Texas Rangers. Semien, 33, was born in San Francisco, California, and grew up in nearby El Cerrito, where he pitched and played infield and was a member of the El Cerrito area’s All-Stars teams. Semien and his wife, Tarah Murrey, a 33-year-old former NCAA volleyball player who played at UCLA, share three sons, Isaiah, Joshua, and Eli, and one daughter, Amelie. The Semien family lives in Berkeley, California, during the MLB offseason.

Here’s why Semien stands out from his Rangers teammates.

How many regular season and postseason games have Semien played in 2023?

Marcus Semien was one of four players who played in all 162 regular season games in 2023. Semien led all of baseball with 753 plate appearances over that sample. Semien played in all 17 of the Rangers’ postseason games. For some context, Semien, a leadoff hitter and second baseman for the Rangers, signed a seven-year, $175 million contract with Texas on December 1, 2021. He led MLB with 724 plate appearances, 657 at-bats, and ten sacrifice flies, hit .248/.304/.429 with 26 home runs and 83 RBIs, and reached on an error 12 times in 2022. In addition, Semien led MLB again in plate appearances with 753 and then batted .276/.348/.478 with an MLB-leading 122 runs in 2023. He became a 2023 World Champion and achieved a historic MLB record.

How many regular and postseason games have Semien played in the last three years?

It would be the average number of games played in three years from 2021 to 2023. Semien played 162 regular-season games in 2021 and 2023 and 161 regular-season games in 2022. He only played in postseason games in 2023. Despite the fact Semien didn’t play in any postseason games in 2021 and 2022, the El Cerrito, California, native has amazed not only Texas Rangers fans but also most, if not all, opposing teams’ fans. Semien finished the 2023 MLB season in stellar fashion while finishing in third place in the AL MVP voting.

In his Major League career, Semien played 1343 games out of a possible 1782 games.

Semien played three times in all 162 regular season games — the first with Oakland in 2019, the second with Toronto in 2021, and the third with Texas in 2023.

Wrap Up

If you’re unimpressed, I don’t know who or what can impress you. Semien is a true All-Star, a two-time member of the All-Star teams in 2021 and 2023, respectively. He played in more games than anyone in MLB since 2021. He worked hard to get to where he is today, including his five-year tenure in Oakland, some of which I witnessed when I worked as a sports editor in the Bay Area.