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Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, infielder Kolten Wong established himself as a key player soon after he was handed his big league debut in August of 2013. An extremely safe glove at second base, Wong won two Gold Glove awards during the eight seasons he spent in St. Louis.
On Monday, the Hawaiian star announced his retirement from professional baseball, as MLB's official handle on X (formerly Twitter) reported.
"Kolten Wong has announced his retirement after 11 seasons spent with the Cardinals, Brewers, Mariners and Dodgers. He was a Gold Glove Award winner in 2019 and 2020." the post was captioned
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Reacting to the news, plenty of fans left comments thanking Kolten Wong for his service and wishing him the best for the next chapter of his life.
"Cardinals legend. Thanks Kolten." a fan wrote
"Thank you Kolten! Loved having you on the Cardinals. ❤️🤍❤️🤍" another fan posted
"Cardinals legend." another fan shared
"Good career. Good luck in life after baseball" another fan replied
"Congrats on a good career!" another fan responed
"Fun player to watch! Appreciated that he always played hard and with heart🫡" another fan commented
Kolten Wong became a journeyman of sorts after leaving the Cardinals as a free agent
Despite winning his second career Gold Glove in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the St. Louis Cardinals declined Kolten Wong's club option, meaning he effectively became a free agent as soon as the offseason began.
In early Feb. 2021, Wong signed a two-year, $18 million deal to take him to Milwaukee, where he would spend the next year and a half. Despite opting to activate Wong's club option and keep him for an extra year, paying him an additional $10 million in Nov. 2022, the Brewers decided to trade the second baseman to the Mariners only one month later.
Failing to settle into his new home in Seattle, Wong eventually found himself on the fringes of the roster, and was designated for assignment, and ultimately released, only eight months after he joined.
Minor league contracts followed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, and Arizona Diamondbacks. However, Kolten Wong failed to establish himself as a regular big leaguer for any of the three organizations. Wong's last big league appearance came in October 2023 for the Dodgers.
