Cal Alum Marcus Semien of the Rangers Voted American League All-Star Starter

The veteran second baseman received the highest share of votes of any AL position player.

Jeff Faraudo | Jun 30, 2023

Former Cal star Marcus Semien will be an All-Star for the second time after being voted the American League’s starting second baseman, it was announced Thursday evening.

Semien is among a Texas Rangers’ franchise record four players named to the starting lineup, along with shortstop Corey Seager, who will make his fourth All-Star appearance, and a pair of first-timers, catcher Jonah Heim and rookie third baseman Josh Jung.

The Rangers, who lead the AL West with a 49-32 record and top all of baseball with a plus-157 runs differential, will have the most starters of any team in the July 11 game at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.

"We all strive to be the best we can be. And if the fans acknowledge us this year, that means we're doing something," Semien said. “We have a ton of guys having great years, pitchers throwing the ball well. The coaching staff works extremely hard. There’s a lot of good things going on right now. So, it makes it fun to come to the ballpark every single day.”

All-Star pitchers and reserved will be announced on Sunday.

Semien was previously an All-Star for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021.

Semien received the highest percentage of votes in Phase 2 of the All-Star balloting than any other position player in the American League. He and Toronto’s Whit Merrifield were the two highest finishers at second base in Phase 1 of the voting, advancing them to Phase 2, where Semien received 65 percent compared to 35 percent for Merrifield.

In Phase 1 of the voting, Semien got 707,712 votes, with Houston’s Jose Altuve second at 363,013. Merrifield was third in the first round with 286,799, but Altuve has played just 27 games this season due to injury.

Semien is batting .284 and leads the American League with 66 runs scored. He is second in the AL in hits (98), third in doubles (24), fourth in total bases (159) and tied for fifth in RBIs (55).

Semien is on pace to score more than 100 runs for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years.

Cover photo of Marcus Semien by Marcus Carlin III, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

Published Jun 30, 2023

JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics.