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By all measures, Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien had an unbelievable regular season. However, with his team now playing the most pivotal games of the season, Semien's All-Star bat is being sorely missed.
During the regular season, Semien hit .276/.348/.478 with 29 home runs and 100 RBIs. Additionally, the 33-year old's 185 hits and 122 runs scored led the AL in both categories.
Unfortunately for Rangers fans, Marcus Semien has been blanking from the leadoff spot for his team. In his last seven games, Semien is 2-for-10 and has only a pair of RBIs, and a .194 average this October.
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On hearing that Semien would, again, star in the leadoff role in Game 3, Rangers fans had their say. According to most conventional baseball knowledge, having a sub-200 hitter batting leadoff in the World Series is not a grounded decision.
A longtime member of the Oakland Athletics, Semien got on everyone's radar during his 2021 campaign as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 2021 season saw the Bay Area-native swat 45 home runs and 102 RBIs, and a slugging percentage of .873. On account of the strong season, Semien won both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award.
Although Semien is seen as one of the better players in MLB, his contributions have been sorely lacking from his otherwise hard-hitting team.
In the AL Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Semien went one-for-nine while the Texas Rangers crossed the plate 11 times in two games.
Game 2 of the World Series will is expected to get underway at 5:03 local time in Arizona. Marcus Semien and the Rangers will be up against rookie sensation Brandon Pfaadt for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Marcus Semien can no longer hide behind rest of Rangers offense
As the 9-1 pummelling that the Rangers suffered in Game 2 showed, the team cannot rely on a few strong bats to carry the team. While it has not glared too obviously yet, Semien's continued lack of hitting will come to cause the team to suffer in this advanced stage of the MLB postseason.
Clearly a player who knows how to get on base and score, Semien has all the ability to take his game to the next level. For the sake of Rangers fans, he better find a way to do it soon.
