Semien proud of Double-A Birmingham's championship

CHICAGO -- The White Sox Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, won the Southern League championship with a 4-2 victory over the Mobile BayBears (D-backs) on Sunday.

The Southern League title is Birmingham's first since 2002, and several current members of the White Sox contributed to the club's success this season, including infielder Marcus Semien, catcher Miguel Gonzalez, and pitchers Erik Johnson, Jake Petricka, and Daniel Webb.

Semien -- who was named the 2013 Southern League Most Valuable Player earlier this month after hitting .290 with 15 home runs, 49 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 105 games for the Barons -- said he followed the team's progress throughout the playoffs and is happy for his former teammates.

"I'm real proud of those guys, and I'm great friends with pretty much everyone on that team," Semien said. "It was great to see that they won. I was keeping track pretty much every night, and it's awesome to have been a part of that."

Semien added that it came as no surprise to him that the Barons won the title despite some struggles in the second half of the season.

"They had a tough second half, but they figured things out in the playoffs, and I know they had good pitching the whole time," he said. "But they put it together in the end and won the championship."