Former Cardinals Gold Glove Winner Announces Retirement from Baseball

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Daniel Schmidt | Last updated May 19, 2025 1:41 AM ET

Veteran major league infielder Kolten Wong announced his retirement from baseball this past weekend, Brian McInnis of Spectrum News in Hawaii reported. The 34-year-old spent parts of eleven seasons in the majors, with stints in St. Louis for eight seasons and Milwaukee for two. He last appeared in a major league game in 2023 when he spent time with both the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wong spoke to McInnis about his decision, saying, "Pretty much right now, I'm done. I've kind of come to the conclusion that I'm probably going to be hanging them up. It's just one of those things where, the game how it's going now, there’s no sense of chasing (it). … I'm a dad now, yes, I'm enjoying that. I'm trying to be the best big league dad that I can be. So I'm going to stick to that.”

Kolten Wong has announced his retirement from baseball

What’s your favorite Kolten Wong moment? Here’s mine pic.twitter.com/iyi0jKVSnp
— Cardinals Talk (@theredbird_way) May 19, 2025

Wong's professional career started in 2011 after the St. Louis Cardinals selected him with the 22nd pick of the first round of that summer's draft. He was a star prospect for St. Louis, being a consensus top-100 prospect from 2012-2014 and representing the Cardinals in the 2012 and 2013 All-Star Futures games.

Wong made his major league debut late in 2013 and was a member of the Cardinals' roster for their postseason run. He went 1-for-6 with a stolen base in the playoffs as the Redbirds eventually fell to the Red Sox in six games during that fall's World Series.

His best season for the Cards came in 2019. Across 148 games and 549 plate appearances, he collected 5.4 bWAR and posted a slash line of .285/.361/.423 en route to a Gold Glove at second base. In addition, Wong finished 20th in that season's voting for National League Most Valuable Player.

Wong left St. Louis after the Cardinals declined his club option following the 2020 season and he signed with a division foe, the Milwaukee Brewers. In December of 2022, Wong was traded by the Brewers to Seattle in a trade involving Abraham Toro and Jesse Winker. He was cut by Seattle in mid-2023 and joined the Dodgers for their playoff run later that season.

Wong last appeared in professional baseball last season. He joined the Baltimore Orioles for spring training but was released and joined the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released by Arizona on May 27, 2024, and hasn't appeared in a professional game since.

Wong was inducted into the University of Hawaii-Manoa Circle of Honor this weekend. He had his number 14 retired by the baseball program in 2017.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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