BALTIMORE — On the last day of the regular season, with the Texas Rangers trailing the Seattle Mariners 1-0, Marcus Semien came to the plate. Ahead of him to lead off the frame, Evan Carter, the phenom in his first month in the majors, had singled. Semien, representing the go-ahead run, couldn’t help but consider the stakes.
“I hit a homer, I get to go home,” he thought to himself.
He did not hit a homer. Instead, Semien struck out, and two batters later, the Rangers lost the game and lost the American League West to the Houston Astros.