It had been no secret that the Hawaiian native had been drafted in the first round in 2011 as an offensive second baseman and, in the midst of a .240 season in 2016 with no seeming speculation that he would become an elite defensive player, Wong’s future with the Cardinals appeared murky even though he had signed a five-year contract extension that spring.
But this season, the 5-foot-7 Wong finally became the consistent offensive player the Cardinals had hoped to see, batting a club-high .285. And he became, officially, the Gold Glove second baseman that longtime Cardinals infield coach Jose Oquendo and Wong himself had thought he could be.