Cal Baseball: Where Does Marcus Semien Fit In the American League MVP Race?
Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is the overwhelming favorite to win his second American League Most Valuable Player trophy in three seasons.
His Ruthian exploits, including 45 home runs and 10 pitching victories, make him a baseball unicorn, a one-of-a-kind player for whom there is no modern comparison.
But Ohtani is more the player of the year or the most outstanding player in the AL than he is the league’s most valuable player. After all, his achievements came for a Los Angeles Angels team that finished 16 games under .500 and 17 games back in the AL West standings.
The Angels could have managed all that without Ohtani.
Even so, I have no doubt he will win the award in a landslide.
I also argue Marcus Semien warrants consideration, given his “value” to a Texas Rangers’ team whose season continues in the postseason with a Tuesday wild-card opener at Tampa Bay.
Marcus Semien
Photo by Jerome Miron, USA Today
The former Cal star figures to finish third or fourth in the voting, in the mix with teammate Corey Seager and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez.
Semien was third in the MVP race in both 2019 with the A’s and 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays, and his credentials this season are compelling:
— The 33-year-old second baseman led the AL in games (all 162 for the third time in five years), plate appearances (753), at-bats (670), runs scored (122) and hits (185).
— You like modern metrics? His WAR (wins above replacement) was a career-best 7.4, tops in the AL. Seager was second at 6.9, Ohtani fourth at 6.0.
— Semien contributed 40 doubles (third-best in the AL), 320 total bases (second-best, five behind Ohtani), 100 RBI (tied for fourth) and 29 home runs (most by any AL second baseman) to the league’s highest-scoring offense.
— He doesn’t figure to win a Gold Glove but Semien has become a dependable defensive player, as evidenced by a .991 fielding percentage that included just six errors in an AL-best 1,406 full innings played at second base. He and Seager combined on 109 double plays, by far the most in the league. Ohtani, when he wasn’t pitching, was a DH.
The Rangers and Rays meet Tuesday at noon on ABC in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
YEAR 3 FOR ANDREW VAUGHN: The Chicago White Sox, losers of 101 games, were one of baseball's most disappointing teams in 2023. The season was a mixed bag for former Cal star and third-year MLB player Andrew Vaughn.
The 25-year-old first baseman and DH had career highs in games (152), at-bats (566), runs (67), hits (146), doubles (30), home runs (21) and RBI (80). He also struck out a career-high 129 times and batted just .258, a 13-point drop from a year ago.
Cover photo of Marcus Semien by Jerome Miron, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo