Kolten Wong inducted into Cape Cod Hall of Fame

Tribune-Herald

Former University of Hawaii baseball star and current St. Louis Cardinal Kolten Wong was inducted on Saturday to the Cape Cod Baseball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts.

Headlining the 143rd Hall of Fame class, Wong becomes one of the youngest players ever selected for the prestigious league’s Hall. During the 2010 summer season, Wong played for the Orleans Firebirds and was named the league’s MVP after batting .346 with 46 hits and 22 stolen bases in the country’s most prominent collegiate summer league.

The Cod MVP season followed Wong’s sophomore year with the Rainbow Warriors, in which he earned first team all-Western Athletic Conference honors and was MVP of the WAC Tournament. That season, the 2008 Kamehameha-Hawaii graduate also led UH to the WAC title and two wins in the NCAA Regional in Tempe, Ariz.

Following his momentous 2010 Cod season, Wong, in his junior year, collected first-team all-WAC honors for the third time, and was named an All-American. He was selected in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, made his MLB debut in 2013 and played in the World Series later that season.

In 2016, Wong batted .240 with a .327 on-base percentage and .682 OPS in 121 games and 361 at-bats. He had seven homers and 23 RBIs in his age 25 season and third year full year.

At the induction, the final slot belonged to Wong, who was presented by his Orleans hitting coach, Bill Sandillo.

Wong acknowledged how blessed he’s been and told the audience he is where he is today because he was given opportunities and he made the most of them. He said that after reading the stats on the other inductees, he joked with his wife, Alissa, “I’m literally the worst hitter here.”

“The Cape is a special place that we all have so many memories of, and it’s something that we’re going to hold near and dear to our hearts,” Wong said during the ceremony.