Kolten Wong

Kolten Kaha Wong (born October 10, 1990) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his MLB debut in 2013. Wong bats left-handed and throws right-handed.

From Hilo, Hawaii, Wong starred in baseball at Kamehameha Hawaii High School and for the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The St. Louis Cardinals selected Wong in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, and promoted him to the major leagues two years later. He was named the National League Rookie of the Month for May 2014. Wong was the Cardinals' starting second baseman for the majority of his tenure with the team, winning two Gold Gloves and three Fielding Bible Awards. The Cardinals declined Wong's player option for the 2021 season, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. He then signed with Milwaukee, with whom he played two seasons, before he was traded to the Mariners following the 2022 season. Seattle released him in the 2023 season, and he played his final MLB games with the Dodgers that September.

Kolten Wong is the son of Kolen "Kaha" Wong, who played college baseball at the University of Southern California (USC), and spent two years in the minor leagues with the Reno Silver Sox in Class-A and Keala Wong. Despite batting .280 in 157 minor league games, Wong returned to Hilo, Hawaii to raise his family. He rose to prominence as a baseball coach in Hawaii. Instead of pursuing a steady career, he took whatever jobs would afford him the most time to teach Kolten the game and about working out, which he emphasized on a daily basis. In time, Kolten Wong befriended mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighting Championship star B. J. Penn, whose father, Jay Dee Penn, correspondingly befriended Kaha Wong. The Penn’s ran a gym which allowed Kaha Wong to train children how to swing a bat.

To train as a baseball player, Wong spent two hours daily cutting trees with an axe to improve his strength and daily sessions in a batting cage. He participated in the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland where he led his team, Pacific Southwest, to the championship. He also played in the 2007 Senior League World Series, with his team from Hilo American Little League.

Wong was a two-sport star at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii in Keaau, Hawaii, playing baseball and football. As a baseball standout, Wong batted .600 during his senior year and was named a co-winner for the 2008 Hawaii Baseball Player of the Year honor. Wong was a top scholar as well.

The Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 16th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. A scout from the Twins presented Wong with a $75,000 contract offer, which he refused, stating that "after taxes, it's not even that much". Wong chose not to sign, opting to attend the University of Hawaii, where he played college baseball for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

In a game against Loyola Marymount in his freshman year, he hit three home runs (HR). The Rainbow Warriors won a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament in his sophomore year and a regular season championship. Against Louisiana Tech in the WAC tournament, he hit the game-tying and game-winning home runs. Wong was a three-time first-team All-WAC selection.

As a freshman, he played center field and batted .341 with 11 HR. During his sophomore year, he hit .357 with a .534 slugging percentage (SLG), .436 on-base percentage (OBP), 19 stolen bases and 40 runs batted in (RBIs). Playing for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) in 2010, he was named a CCBL All-Star and the Pat Sorenti Most Valuable Player. His batting average (.341) ranked him third in the CCBL that summer, his slugging (.452) was fourth, OBP (.426) second, and stolen bases (22) second, while making just four errors in 145 chances for a .972 fielding percentage. Wong was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2016.