This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON — When Marcus Semien signed with the Rangers, he knew he had to talk to Ron Washington.
The former Texas manager, now a third-base coach with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, told Semien that Dallas-Fort Worth was a great place to raise a family, but also said it was the perfect opportunity for Semien to be part of rebuilding a winning organization.
To understand Semien’s rise toward becoming one of Major League Baseball’s best players, it comes back to Washington, who spent two seasons with Oakland as a coach between his time as the Rangers’ manager and Atlanta’s third-base coach. Those two seasons may have been the most important of Semien’s career.
“Ron Washington is the most influential baseball man in my life,” said Semien, when he signed in December. “It was mostly defense and defensive shifts. I think the point in time I met Wash, I wasn’t in a competent mindset defensively. When I left that season and got into the next season, I was closer to the middle infielder I am today. Very calm — and I still work on the things that we did back in 2015.”
The two reunited and spent time talking during batting practice at Globe Life Field during the Braves’ three-game set against the Rangers.
Washington told MLB.com that coaching Semien was a blessing for him and…
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