Kolten Wong, a veteran major league infielder, announced his retirement over the weekend, according to Brian McInnis of Spectrum News in Hawaii. The 34-year-old played in the majors for a total of eleven seasons, including eight with St. Louis and two with Milwaukee. He last appeared in a major league game in 2023, when he was with both the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Wong informed McInnis of his decision, saying, “Pretty much, I’m done. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll probably hang them up. It’s just one of those things where the game is going so well that there’s no point in chasing it. … I am a father now, and I am enjoying it. I’m striving to be the best big league dad I can be. So I’m going to stick with that.”
Wong’s professional career began in 2011, when the St. Louis Cardinals selected him 22nd in the first round of that summer’s draft. He was a top-100 prospect for the Cardinals from 2012 to 2014 and represented the team in the 2012 and 2013 All-Star Futures games.
Wong made his major league debut in late 2013, and he was on the Cardinals’ postseason roster. He went 1-for-6 with a stolen base in the playoffs, but the Redbirds were defeated in six games by the Red Sox in the World Series that fall.
His best season with the Cardinals came in 2019. In 148 games and 549 plate appearances, he had 5.4 bWAR and a slash line of.285/.361/.423 en route to a Gold Glove at second base. Wong also finished 20th in the National League Most Valuable Player vote that season.
Wong left St. Louis after the Cardinals declined his club option after the 2020 season, signing with a division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers traded Wong to Seattle in December 2022, along with Abraham Toro and Jesse Winker. He was released by Seattle in mid-2023 and joined the Dodgers for their postseason run later that year.
Wong last played professional baseball last season. He spent spring training with the Baltimore Orioles before being released and signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released by Arizona on May 27, 2024, and has not played in a professional game since.
Wong was inducted into the University of Hawaii-Manoa Circle of Honor over the weekend. In 2017, the baseball program retired his #14 jersey.
