Right at home: Rangers' All-Stars put on a show on familiar stage

ARLINGTON -- Marcus Semien sat in the dugout at Globe Life Field and chatted with Rangers offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker over an iPad. They were going over the scouting reports for the pitchers Semien would face in the coming innings of Tuesday night’s game.

That’s not an unusual sight at the Rangers’ home. But this time it was for an MLB All-Star Game.

The 2024 Midsummer Classic marked just the third time a defending World Series champion has hosted an All-Star Game. Texas joined the 1934 New York Giants at the Polo Grounds and the '39 Yankees at the original Yankee Stadium.

So Rangers’ All-Stars Semien, Corey Seager and Kirby Yates were coached by their own staff in their own home ballpark, where a sold-out crowd of 39,343 fans watched the American League earn a 5-3 win over the National League.

“It’s cool,” Semien said of having his team's staff at the All-Star Game. “It's like we speak the same language. We've been together for three years now. There’s no confusion.”

Semien started the game at second base without Seager, who came into the game at shortstop in the top of the fifth at the same time Semien was replaced by the Orioles' Jordan Westburg at second base.

“I was telling [Rangers associate manager] Will Venable that I was in the dugout while Marcus was hitting,” Seager said with a laugh. “It was a weird thing, because I’m always on deck with him up. But it was cool. It was a fun time to watch him.”

Added Semien: “It was weird not playing up the middle with him. Gunnar [Henderson] is a big shortstop, too. They have similar builds and he made a nice play out there. But Corey and I hope to be playing up the middle in these things together in the future.”

They could find another familiar face in the dugout.

Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy managed his fifth All-Star Game -- he was at the helm of the 1999, 2011, '13 and '15 NL All-Star squads. He became just the ninth manager to manage Midsummer Classic at least five times, joining Casey Stengel (10), Walter Alston (nine), Joe McCarthy (seven), Tony La Russa (six), Joe Torre (six), Sparky Anderson (five), Bobby Cox (five) and Al Lopez (five).

Bochy also joined LaRussa as the only managers to win All-Star Games in both leagues, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

“When I first started managing, I didn't know if I'd ever manage in the Major Leagues,” Bochy said. “I was enjoying managing the Minor Leagues and I had such a high pedestal [for MLB]. To manage five All-Star games, yeah, I'll be honest: I'm blown away by it. I had this opportunity to do this five times. This is my first time as an American League manager. And again, just how blessed I am and how fortunate I am to be in this situation. I don't think about it until it’s brought up, but I’m blown away. This is such a big game.”

All in all, it was a successful day for the Rangers, as Bochy’s squad defeated the NL.

Semien went 1-for-2 with a single and a run that sparked an early AL rally. Seager went hitless in his sole at-bat, but he hit a deep fly ball to right-center field that had a .650 expected batting average and would have been a home run in 17 of 30 ballparks. Yates tossed a perfect eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts.

“You just don’t wanna suck,” Yates joked. “It was cool. I think, you know, there's so many nerves and everything in the last couple of days that by the time like the fifth inning comes around you kind of settle in, you get a little relaxed. Once you start warming up, it's more about trying to be yourself when you go out there. I found myself pretty quickly.”