Semien's Thousand

The Ride

As a kid in El Cerrito, Marcus Semien rode public transit with his grandmother Carol to watch the 49ers, the Giants, the A's. Years later she streamed his minor-league games and called him afterward with feedback. She died of a heart attack in 2013, months before he debuted with the Chicago White Sox that September. He still wears a necklace pendant carrying her fingerprint and has never taken it off.

On July 26 of this year, now with the Mets, Semien scored his 1,000th career run.

Fourteen seasons will build you a number like that. Two years on the South Side, six in Oakland, one in Toronto, four in Texas — where he won the World Series in 2023 — and this year, his first in Queens. He has played 1,734 games and come around to score 1,009 times.

The Position

His first full year in Oakland was 2015, and he committed 35 errors, the most in the league. He went to Ron Washington for help with fundamentals and mindset, and Semien has called Washington the most influential baseball man in his life. Washington has described him as a quality individual, family man, player and teammate who grew tremendously. The Gold Gloves came in 2021 and 2025.

Semien was born in San Francisco, played youth ball in El Cerrito, went to St. Mary's College High School in Berkeley, and played college ball at California. The White Sox drafted him in the sixth round in 2011. They had also picked him in the 34th round in 2008, out of high school; he chose not to sign.

He turned 35 last September. In the off-season he lives in Berkeley with his wife Tarah and their five children. He is still at second base.

Reporting: Mercury News, MLB.com, Wikipedia. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.