Marcus Semien, for all intents and purposes, is the captain of the Texas Rangers. There’s not an official patch or designation, but he’s the guy. He’s not their most talented hitter that’s Corey Seager and he’s not the emotional backbone of the club that’s Adolis García. But he’s the guy that others follow day in and day out. He is the guy who posts up every day, playing all 162 games plus all 12 games in the postseason and whatever else the World Series brings, and who drives the work ethic of the clubhouse.
Ohtani is having another historic season, as he entered Wednesday hitting .273/.356/.521 with 34 homers, 30 doubles, 11 stolen bases and 95 RBIs in 156 games. He’s also gone 15-8 with a 2.35 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 161 innings on the mound. He was scheduled to make his 28th start of the year in the season finale against the A's on Wednesday and will become the first player in AL or NL history to be qualified as both a hitter and a pitcher in the same season. Fellow superstar Mike Trout who has won three AL MVP Awards himself, said he believes that people take what Ohtani is doing for granted because he set such a high bar last year. Trout said he thinks it’s hurt Ohtani’s case this year against Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who hit his AL-record 62nd homer on Tuesday and is considered the favorite to win the award.
He didn’t wear his cowboy boots or a sombrero during batting practice. We didn’t see him don a luchador mask in the dugout. He didn’t rob a home run or make any other game-saving defensive plays. But all the showmanship and joy Randy Arozarena displayed throughout the World Baseball Classic? He brought that with him for the 25,025 fans at Tropicana Field on Opening Day. Between his historic 2020 postseason and his 2021 American League Division Series dramatics, it quickly became apparent that Arozarena thrives on the big stage. And in the past two years, we began to see how much Arozarena loves playing to the crowd. He’d wave, smile and pump up anyone cheering his name, at home or on the road. He even hauled a bat out to left field for a fan last season.
The first two games of the 2023 World Series were not only entertaining, but filled with fascinating observations. As the series is tied at one game apiece, the Arizona Diamondbacks are a resilient ball club unfazed by the enormity of the Fall Classic whereas the Texas Rangers cannot afford to have shortstop Corey Seager disappear for a moment regardless of right fielder Adolis García’s historic postseason. García has set a record for the most runs batted in throughout a single postseason (22) as Seager sits third (20) on the list due to his offensive exploits from the 2020 postseason. His game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game One served as a reminder of Seager’s postseason prowess whose notoriety was elevated to superstar status by winning the 2020 Most Valuable Player Awards in the National League Championship Series and World Series while a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The usually stoic Seager exhibited genuine enthusiasm rounding the bases as his 17th career postseason home run sailed deep into the right field mezzanine seats at Globe Life Field in Arlington. According to MLB Network, Seager has the third most home runs in postseason history by a shortstop behind Hall of Famer Derek Jeter (20) and Carlos Correa (18) of the Minnesota Twins. This marked the eighth time in World Series history that a ball player has hit a game-tying home run down multiple runs in the ninth inning or later in a ball game. In total, there have been 11 game-tying home runs in the ninth inning of a World Series ball game. According to FOX Sports, Seager’s four home runs are the most in World Series history by a shortstop.
Yandy Diaz ranks 12th in franchise history in plate appearances with 2,184, making him one of the franchise’s longest tenured Rays at age 32. Among players with at least 1,000 PA for the Rays, he has the highest career wRC+ at 137. For a single season, his 164 wRC+ for 2023 is second to only Peña (167, 2007) in franchise history, minimum 50 games. Personally, Díaz set career highs in nearly every offensive category, including hits (173), doubles (35), home runs (22), RBI (78), runs scored (95), batting average (.330), slugging pct. (.522) and OPS (.932). He ranked among AL hitters in on-base pct. (2nd), multi-hit games (T2nd, 53), OPS (3rd), average exit velocity (3rd, 93.4 mph), slugging pct. (4th) and hits (5th). He led qualified AL first basemen in average, on-base pct., slugging pct., OPS and hits. His 19 games with at least three hits tied Julio Lugo (2005) for the club record, while his 53 multi-hit games were the most by a Rays player since Crawford (54) in 2009.
The 2023 regular season saw García set career highs in home runs (39), RBIs (107) and OPS (.836) while making his second All-Star team. He still struck out a healthy amount -- 175 times in 148 games -- but he also drew 65 walks, just seven fewer than his combined total from 2021 and 2022. From one year to the next, his chase rate dropped from 37% to 29.4%, an uncommon improvement for a hitter already in his 30s.
So Hays had an overall solid 2023 season, but it was another one where his stats fell off in the second half. That happened to him in 2022 also, but it was still a 2023 season where he produced career highs in doubles, runs, hits (143), extra-base hits (54) and multi-hit games (40). He tied for ninth in the AL in doubles and was 29th in OPS.
His time in the big leagues was also fraught with streakiness. Including that first home run, he got hits in eight of his first 10 games, carrying a batting average of just .250, but an OPS of .800. That mark would have been higher if he’d managed to boost his on-base percentage with even a single walk. And thanks in part to that aggressive approach, it didn’t take long before big-league pitchers started to expose the rookie a bit. When Jung doubled in the fifth inning of a game on Sept. 25, it snapped an 0-for-20 slump (though he did finally draw his first two walks on the preceding two days). That double sparked a three-game stretch in which he grabbed six hits, including a two-homer, five-RBI game that accounted for all the runs in a 5-0 win over Seattle.
Heim established himself as a workhorse in 2023 and caught the second-most games (116) of any catcher in baseball in the regular season despite his injury and started each of Texas’ 17 playoff games. His switch-hitting ability allows him to stay in the lineup regardless of matchup, and his framing, game-calling and arm make him nearly irreplaceable in the field.
While the 2023 season went far worse for the Yankees — they failed to make the playoffs — Cole put together one of the best years of his career. The ace went 15-4 while leading the American League with a 2.63 ERA and 209 innings pitched.
416/. 596 (168 OPS+) with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases. Acuña's season represents the first time that a player had cleared the 40-70 mark. While it doesn't cheapen his brilliance, it should be noted that this season comes after the installation of new rules at the MLB level that incentivized the stolen base.
The 2023 campaign was Freeman's finest to date. Fifty-nine doubles are what stand out, and for good reason, as Freeman surpassed the franchise record by 13 percent. His 59 doubles matched the highest total in a season during the last 87 years.
Betts made 107 appearances in right field and 70 appearances at second base in 2023, in addition to 16 appearances at shortstop. Though Roberts indicated that Betts will still see the occasional start in right field versus left-handed pitching, he looks like he'll mostly be on the dirt moving forward.
Despite the relative lack of plate discipline, Martinez arguably had his best power season of his career. He didn't set a career high in home runs or extra base hits, but Martinez demonstrated a profound ability to hit the ball hard and hit the ball in the air.
When the Cardinals clinched the NL Central just over a year ago, Arenado made it clear that winning the game's highest prize was crucial before the retirements of Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. Unfortunately for St. Louis, the dream was halted at the hands of the surprising Philadelphia Phillies, who defeated the Cardinals in the NLWS and went on to play for the World Series in 2022. A year later, Arenado again spoke about his desire to win.
The leadoff single in the Marlins' eventual 2-1 loss to the New York Mets was the 200th hit of his 2023 season. Arraez is just the fourth player in franchise history to log 200 hits in a season. The others: Dee Strange-Gordon (2015 and 2017), Juan Pierre (2003 and 2004) and Hanley Ramirez (2007).
Sean Murphy has been one of the best catchers in the MLB for multiple years now and he proved why once again behind the plate for the Braves this year. Good luck stealing bases on Murphy, as he caught 15 players trying to steal this year.
Carroll became the first rookie in MLB history to hit 25 or more homers and steal 50 or more bases. He stole 54 bases while hitting 25 homers. “What we saw with Corbin Carroll as a rookie. I've said this before a million times it's not normal,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said.
Among shortstops, Arcia's .829 OPS is second-highest in the National League, behind only Matt McClain of the Cincinnati Reds. Arcia is slashing .301/.357/.472, all well above his career numbers. Arcia's career slash prior to 2023 was .243/.296/.369. Not only has he positioned himself as one of the top offensive shortstops in the league, he is doing it with the glove too. His 8.5 DEF rating on Fangraphs is good for the 18th-best rating in the entire league. His seven OAA is the best on the Braves this season. It truly is a breakout for the shortstop.
A year after pitching to a 2.54 ERA, Gallen had an occasionally turbulent 2023, with a 3.47 ERA. But he also worked 59 2/3 more innings than he ever has before. Gallen said that workload could require tweaks to how he attacks the off-season.