DALLAS — Chalk up another accolade for the World Series champions.
Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien won the 2023 Heart & Hustle Award from the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association on Friday.
The annual award is presented to the player "who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game."
Semien, the team's de facto captain, has certainly been that guy for the Rangers.
In 2023, he played in all 162 games (plus the 17 playoff games) and led all of baseball in plate appearances and led the American League in runs and hits.
Semien also finished third in the 2023 American League Most Valuable Player award race, behind teammate and second-place finisher Corey Seager and eventual winner Shohei Ohtani. It was Semien's third top-3 MVP finish since 2019.
But the Rangers star infielder has been just as noteworthy off the field this season.
Semien and his wife Tarah work hand in hand with the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation to give meals to families of the club's youth academy. In all, they distributed more than 1,500 boxes of fresh produce and non-perishables to area families as part of the 10-week program.
Semien is the first Texas Rangers to win the Heart & Hustle award since its inception in 2005. Semien was also an All-Star this season, and took home the Silver Slugger award as the American League's best-hitting second baseman.