Texas Rangers Second Baseman Marcus Semien Named 2024 Nominee For Roberto Clemente Award, Presented By Capital One
The award is baseball¡¯s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers
Major League Baseball today announced second baseman Marcus Semien has been named the Texas Rangers 2024 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One.
The Roberto Clemente Award, presented by Capital One, 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.
Since joining the Rangers in 2021, Semien has played an active role with the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation and the Texas Rangers Baseball Youth Academy, serving as a role model for young athletes from diverse backgrounds, demonstrating the values of hard work, dedication, and community.
"Marcus Semien's impact goes far beyond the field," said Neil Leibman, Texas Rangers President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer. "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."
Semien will be recognized as the Rangers 2024 Robert Clemente Award nominee in a pregame ceremony on Tuesday, September 17, when Texas hosts the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:05 p.m.
Semien, a 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game starter, will be honored for his continued leadership efforts on and off the field.
Off Field Highlights:
- Since 2022, Semien has participated in the Annual Texas Rangers Youth Academy 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, expanded their efforts by sponsoring The Semien Family Food Distribution, partnering with the non-profit Food for the Soul to provide over 1,500 boxes of fresh produce and shelf-stable goods to Youth Academy athletes throughout summer programming.
- Semien has helped secure a $5,000 grant each year for equipment for the Academy and has served for two years in the Nike RBI Ambassador Program. He meets with youth athletes competing in the Nike RBI Regionals and gives them tips and encouragement before tournaments.
- Semien participates in the Equip the Future ? events with The Players Alliance, which creates mentorship opportunities for baseball and softball players to gain insight from current and former professional players.
- Since December 2020, Marcus and his father, Damien Semien, have actively engaged with parents and student-athletes by participating in monthly Town Hall Meetings and educational modules hosted on the Ethos Village digital platform. Topics covered have included Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Relationships, and Mental Wellness.
- Semien was selected as the Rangers recipient of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association's 2024 Heart and Hustle Award. This honor recognizes active players who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit, and traditions of the game.
Now in his 12th Major League season, Semien has played with the Chicago White Sox (2013-14), Oakland A's (2015-20), Toronto Blue Jays (2021), and Rangers (2022-24). The two-time American League All-Star has a pair of AL Silver Slugger Awards and won a Rawlings Gold Glove in 2021. He had finished third in the AL Most Valuable Player Award balloting three times, including in 2023, when he appeared in all 179 of the Rangers' regular season and post-season games. He was selected as the 2023 Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the MLB Players Association as well as the national recipient of the MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award.
In 2024, Semien is batting .238 with 19 home runs and 67 RBI in 141 games.
About the Roberto Clemente Award
Sunday, September 15th marks the annual Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a customized tribute video to Clemente and the 30 Roberto Clemente Award nominees will be shown in all MLB ballparks on Roberto Clemente Day as well as on MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.tv, Club sites and MLB Social Media Platforms.
The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be honored at the 2024 World Series following selection by a blue-ribbon panel. This panel includes representatives from the Commissioner's Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as Roberto's children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One via MLBTogether.com/clementeaward (in both English and Spanish). The site, which will feature bios of each of the nominees, will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Sunday, September 29th. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.
The concept of honoring Major League players for their philanthropic work was created in 1971 as the "Commissioner's Award." The recognition was renamed to the "Roberto Clemente Award" in 1973 as tribute to Clemente following his passing while delivering relief supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua on December 31, 1972.