Former Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong announces retirement from baseball after 11 seasons

Veteran second baseman Kolten Wong is retiring from professional baseball. Wong, who was best known for his time with the St. Louis Cardinals, officially retires from the sports after 11 seasons in MLB.

Wong announced his retirement this weekend, telling local reporters in Hawaii that he was hanging up the cleats. The Cardinals and MLB officially announced the news on Monday.

The former second baseman threw out the first pitch at a game between University of Hawaii, his alma mater, and UC San Diego on Friday, telling local reporters at the game that he was retiring from the professional game. Wong was then inducted into the university's Sports Circle of Honor on Sunday.

"Pretty much right now, I'm done," Wong told reporters at the game, via local Spectrum News. "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."

Wong was drafted by the Cardinals in 2011, making his major league debut in 2013. The second baseman spent eight seasons with St. Louis, earning Golden Glove honors in 2019 and 2020.

Wong then signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, spending two seasons there, and spent time with the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023. He signed minor league contracts with two teams last season, but was released by both teams.