Semien leans on family, community after receiving Clemente Award nod
Kennedi Landry
@kennlandryARLINGTON -- Growing up in the Bay Area, Marcus Semien didn¡¯t have something like the Texas Rangers Youth Academy. He grew up playing baseball and other sports, obviously, but it wasn¡¯t quite like what the Rangers have going in West Dallas these days.
¡°I wish I had the opportunities that these kids have here,¡± Semien said during his first offseason in DFW in 2022, when he and his teammates handed out Thanksgiving turkeys. ¡°I grew up in the Bay Area and we didn't have an academy like this. It's just special to see young kids, especially kids of color, playing ball, for me as a Black player in the league. I want to see more and more kids come out, and I know that Dallas has a lot of kids who love the game and this is a place for it.¡±
In just over three years with the Rangers, Semien has been maybe the player with the greatest presence in the Metroplex area when he¡¯s not playing, playing an active role in both the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation and the Texas Rangers Baseball Youth Academy.
That¡¯s the biggest reason that Semien has been named the Texas Rangers¡¯ 2024 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. According to Major League Baseball, the Roberto Clemente Award is ¡°the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.¡±
¡°Marcus' impact goes far beyond the field,¡± said Neil Leibman, the Rangers' president of business operations. ¡°His leadership and commitment to the game set a powerful example for young athletes, and his dedication to giving back to the community truly stands out.¡±
The Youth Academy in West Dallas has been the biggest recipient of Semien¡¯s dedication and care. The second baseman has played an active role both during the season and in the offseason.
Since joining the Rangers in 2021, Semien has continued to participate in the annual Youth Academy Thanksgiving dinner distribution, which donates over 200 Thanksgiving dinners to local families in West Dallas at the Youth Academy.
In 2023 and 2024, Semien and his wife, Tarah, began The Semien Family Food Distribution, partnering with nonprofit Food for the Soul to provide over 1,500 boxes of fresh produce and shelf-stable goods to Youth Academy athletes throughout summer programming.
¡°They come out and help too,¡± Semien said of his wife and four kids. ¡°I think that they have such good hearts. They want to help people. They want to interact with our community, too, you know? I think it's cool that the Rangers nominated me, but it's really about my family too, and my wife and kids and everybody involved.¡±
Semien has also secured a $5,000 grant each year for equipment for the Academy and has served for two years in the Nike RBI Ambassador Program, where he meets with the region¡¯s teams from the Nike RBI program to give them advice before the annual tournament.
Semien is also involved with The Players Alliance, which is a group of current and retired Black professional baseball and softball players, united to create better opportunities for Black baseball and softball players.
¡°It's something that's important to me,¡± Semien said of the Clemente Award honor. ¡°When you talk about how to impact your community, whether that's the city we play in, which is the DFW Metroplex, or where you grow up, those things are definitely our duty as players to make sure that we can help those in our community.¡±