The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association on Tuesday announced the winners of the 2025 Heart & Hustle Award.
This will be the 20th year of the award, which is presented to the active players who “exemplify a true passion for the game and who best embody the values, spirit, and tradition of the game. The overall winner will be decided at season’s end from the pool of team winners by a combination of alumni and fan votes.
MLBbros Win Heart & Hustle Award
There were several Bros who won the award for their respective teams in 2025. Byron Buxton (Twins) and Michael A. Taylor (Chicago White Sox) joined Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers) as award winners for their teams in the American League. In the National League, Tommy Pham of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the only MLBbro to win the honor.
Marcus Semien Wins Sixth Heart & Hustle Team Award
It’s also the only award voted on by former players, as each team’s winner is chosen by a committee of alumni. Previous league-wide MLBbro winners include Torii Hunter (2011), Mookie Betts (2018), Howie Kendrick (2019) and Marcus Semien (2023). No award was presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This season’s overall winner will be announced in mid-November on MLB Network.
MLBbro Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers) won his sixth Heart and Hustle award for his team and adds to his already growing legacy as a star player with a giant contract, big statistical achievements and a World Series ring. He’s also known as one of the hardest working players the game and is recognized as a living embodiment of Heart & Hustle.
From Opening Day through the final out of the World Series, Marcus Semien was a constant for the Rangers in 2023. Texas played 179 total games in 2023, and Semien started all of them, each as the team’s leadoff hitter and second baseman.
Semien, whose teammates call him “Cap” is known throughout the league for his consistent routine and his remarkable focus. He shows up to the ballpark and does the same thing every day to get himself ready to compete.
Semien Helps Texas Rangers Win World Series & Plays All 179 Games
Semien, who joined the Rangers on a seven-year, $175 million contract in December 2021, finished the 2023 regular season with 29 homers, 100 RBIs, an AL-leading 122 runs scored, 14 steals and an .826 OPS. He finished third in AL MVP voting. He then helped Texas come back from a 3-2 American League Championship Series deficit against the Astros and defeat the D-backs four games to one in the World Series. Semien hit safely in each of the Rangers’ final seven playoff games and homered in Games 4 and 5 of the Fall Classic as the Rangers won it all. All told, Semien made 835 plate appearances between the regular season and postseason, setting a single-year MLB record.
He became the first Ranger to win the Heart & Hustle Award, which was established in 2005. In addition to his work on the field, Semien has been active in the DFW community and working to grow the game of baseball since he joined the club in 2021. He’s been an active participant with both the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation and the Texas Rangers Youth Academy in West Dallas.
Over the summer, he and his family partnered with the Foundation to provide meals to Youth Academy families through non-profit organization Food for the Soul. The 10-week program included over 1500 boxes of fresh produce and non-perishables for families in need. He also donated over $5,000 worth of equipment to Rangers RBI senior baseball team at the Youth Academy during the 2023 Nike RBI Southwest Regional Tournament.
“He’s a pillar of this organization,” Corey Seager said of Semien during the World Series. “It’s how we want to go about our business. He goes about it every day, works hard. He doesn’t need to be the vocal leader. It’s just by watching, you can learn from him and know everything you need to know about him.” “He’s everything [to this organization] honestly,” utility man Josh H. Smith said.
