Marcus Semien has been the Texas Rangers' leadoff man in all 156 of their games this season, and he has spearheaded the club's offense in historic fashion.
Semien opened the seventh inning of Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels with a solo home run, giving the Rangers some insurance en route to their 5-1 win. That result extended Texas' winning streak to six, putting them one game closer to clinching a playoff spot and potentially the AL West crown.
According to TSN's StatsCentre, Semien is now tied for third in American League history for RBI out of the leadoff spot in a single season with 98.
Darin Erstad set the record with 100 RBI for the Angels in 2000, and Alfonso Soriano came close to breaking it with 99 RBI for the New York Yankees in 2002. Semien is locked in a tie with former Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra – who drove in 98 runs of his own in 1997 – after surpassing outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and the 97 RBI he racked up in his 2011 campaign.
Semien is batting .277 with an .826 OPS this season, all while leading the league in hits, runs, at-bats, plate appearances and games played. Over the last four full MLB seasons – which he has spent with the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Rangers – Semien has missed a grand total of one game.
In addition to leading all AL second basemen with 28 home runs this year, Semien also leads all AL middle infielders with 191 home runs since 2016.
Semien leads AL position players with a 7.2 WAR this season. No. 2 on that list is Semien's teammate, shortstop Corey Seager, with a 7.0 WAR in just 113 games played.
With six games left on the schedule, Semien's next chance to break Erstad's record will be Tuesday against the Angels. First pitch is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET.
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