Former Brewers infielder Kolten Wong retires after 11 big-league seasons
Kolten Wong, best known for his Gold Glove at second base but whose top years with the bat came with the Milwaukee Brewers, officially retired May 19.
Wong, who played the final of his 11 big-league seasons in 2023, was a member of the Brewers in 2021 and 2022, posting career-best years on offense while playing second base. The two years with the Brewers marked his two best home run outputs, with 14 in his first year and 15 the next. By OPS+, which measures on-base percentage plus slugging percentage adjusted for factors such as ballpark, they were also the two top performances of Wong's career.
Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong (16) circles the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of their game against the New York Mets on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
When Wong signed with Milwaukee before the 2021 season, he did so with a reputation as one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball, having won a pair of Gold Gloves. That didn't quite carry over to the Brewers, where he graded out below average on defense but was still a major factor in Wong amassing 22.9 career Wins Above Replacement.
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The Brewers dealt Wong to the Seattle Mariners for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro in December 2022. The deal, at face value, flopped for both sides as Wong was designated for assignment after 66 games with a .468 OPS and Winker battled injuries and hit for no power all year. The Brewers, though, did turn Toro into right-hander Chad Patrick in a deal with the Athletics after the 2023 season.
Wong, a native of Hawaii, finished with 973 career hits, 512 runs scored, 86 homers, 120 stolen bases and a .719 OPS. He spent his first eight seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he took third in rookie of the year voting in 2014 and received MVP votes in 2019.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Brewer, Cardinal Kolten Wong retires after 11 seasons
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