Now batting second and playing center field for the St. Louis Cardinals: Kolten Wong.
In his first game back in the big leagues Saturday, Wong moved to a new position, broke in a glove, shook off some nerves and drove in a run in the Cardinals’ 4-3 loss to the Rangers in St. Louis.
The 2008 Kamehameha-Hawaii graduate told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Obviously, there were some jitters going through … but then again I’ve caught millions of fly balls.”
Though not in the majors. Wong played center field during his freshman year at UH-Manoa and recently got a look at the position after being demoted to Triple-A Memphis, but he had never played a position other than second in his previous 344 games with the Cardinals.
“I’m athletic enough where I know I can play out there,” Wong told the Post-Dispatch on Friday. “It was fun, kind of brought back memories of being in college again my freshman year. Really didn’t feel like I really lost that much, almost like riding a bike again.”
Wong played second during his sophomore and junior seasons with the Rainbow Warriors, and he was a catcher at Kamehameha.
He had a relatively quiet day in the field, handling all three of his flyball opportunities.
In the fifth, Wong singled to bring in Carlos Martinez but was eventually thrown out trying to score from third on a fly to center. After a 1-for-4 day at the plate, he’s hitting .223 in the majors and his six RBIs match his error total.
He told the Post-Dispatch he had a “great time” in his seven games with the Redbirds.
“I got to play baseball … I knew I was going to be in the lineup everyday and I got to go out there and have fun, enjoy the game,” Wong said.
“I have a new mentality, to just go out there and playing the game, regardless of what the situation is – how I’m playing or when I’m playing – and just have fun. Those guys kind of helped me with that down there.”
Though he clubbed four home runs with Memphis and hit safely in each game, Wong said he felt like he was starting to click offensively even before being demoted.
“I was telling (Cardinals hitting coach John Mabry) and all those guys that, man, things were going the right way,” Wong told the Post-Dispatch. “Just a bad time because I wasn’t doing anything up here. Going down there, everything fell into place just exactly how I knew it was going to.”
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny praised Wong for having the “right perspective and right attitude to go get better.”
“He’s working hard at whatever he needs to do to be the best player he can be,” Matheny told the Post-Dispatch. “It’s nice to see that he’s been open to the idea of playing in the outfield and in the meantime really working to figure out a nice spot with his swing.”
Randal Grichuk started 62 games for the Cardinals this season, but he was hitting just .206 and was sent down to the minors Saturday. St. Louis recalled Tommy Pham, who started in left field on opening day for St. Louis but had been out as he rehabbed a strained oblique.
Whatever the position, Matheny said Wong fits the mold of the Cardinals.
“It’s something the organization saw as potential to help him and his versatility,” he told the Post-Dispatch. “That’s kind of what our club’s all about right now. Guys who are able to play multiple positions give themselves a chance to help us in ways you might not see as obvious.
“He’s been working hard and swinging the bat well. I think something like this can do nothing but help him and help us.”
As luck would have it, Wong didn’t play in either game in which a team was to honor his heritage.
On Friday, the Cardinals held Kolten Wong Hawaiian-print jersey night at Busch Stadium. On Saturday, the Redbirds were also set to hold a Kolten Wong Hawaiian Jersey theme.