PHILADELPHIA » Kolten Wong knows he’s already beaten the odds.

When you’re a 5-foot-9 (maybe) former catcher from a remote place like Hilo, the major leagues aren’t supposed to be your landing spot. And yet … if a little guy like Maui’s Shane Victorino can do it and even get to the point where he becomes an all-star, why not another one?

Why not Kolten Wong?

"Being from Hawaii it’s a privilege to be playing in the big leagues period," said Wong, moments before he’d momentarily snapped out of a 6-for-42 hitting slump by pounding a two-run homer in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 12-4 win over Victorino’s old team, the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. "But for kids in Hawaii it’s good to know if you work hard and put your mind to it, you can make it. That’s what we’re doing this for. To show kids even though we’re from a small island in the middle of the water ‘Don’t give up your dream. You can make it as well.’ "

It’s taken a couple of years since the Cardinals plucked the University of Hawaii standout with the No. 22 pick in the first round of the 2011 draft. But the 24-year-old Wong finally seems to be coming of age. Even with that recent skid that lowered his .314 average to .285 he’s provided a spark at the top of Mike Matheny’s lineup, along with solid defense.

That’s just one of the reasons the Cardinals have the best record in baseball (45-23), giving every indication they’ll be back in the postseason for the fourth straight year. Despite the loss of ace pitcher Adam Wainwright to a season-ending torn Achilles, along with the tragic offseason death of Oscar Taveras, Wong’s good friend and teammate all the way up the minor league ladder until they arrived in St. Louis, the Cardinals haven’t skipped a beat.

That’s a credit to the way the organization keeps developing talent.

"You look a lot of the guys in the big leagues right now they’re all homegrown talent," said Wong, who was joined Friday by former Hawaii teammate Greg Garcia, who slapped two singles in his 2015 debut. "We all got drafted by the Cardinals and came up with the Cardinals. When you have an organization that wants to see their younger guys come up and do well it’s almost expected of you to produce."

Wong has produced to the level he’s become one of the top second basemen in the league, hitting .283 with eight homers and 30 RBIs. He trails Florida’s Dee Gordon in the all-star voting by some 350,000 heading into the last couple of weeks.

While he’d naturally be thrilled to be in Cincinnati in mid-July, he’s philosophical about it.

"I don’t really pay attention to that," said Wong, wearing a "Wong Gone" T-shirt with his No. 16 encrypted in the design that was made by a friend. "That’s something I can’t control.

"I’m trying to put together a good year to help this team. The all-star voting is gonna fall the way it does. If I make it, great. If not, just help this team keep winning. That’s all I’m worried about."

As for the folks cheering him on back home, Wong certainly appreciates their support. After all, it wasn’t that long he was the one rooting for Victorino, Kurt Suzuki and other islanders who’d made it to "The Show."

Being a role model carries responsibility with it.

"As soon as I got drafted Shane was one of the first to call and congratulate me and welcome me to the baseball family," recalled Wong, who plans sometime to visit the Shane Victorino Boys & Girls Club here (Philadelphia) in the inner city, which was renovated by Victorino’s Foundation a few years back. "That’s one of the things I want to pass on to the kids drafted now.

"Tell ’em to keep pushing and join us up here with the special thing we have going on."

Especially a certain 2013 fourth-round Tampa Bay Rays draft choice, Kolten’s 20-year-old brother, Kean.

"I talked to him probably a couple of times a week just to see how he’s doing,” said Wong of Kean, who’s playing for the Rays’ Charlotte affiliate in the Florida State League. "In 2-3 years he could be up here, but you never know.

"Every club’s different in how they push their guys. So I just tell him to keep working. All you can control is how you play."

Looking down the road about the prospects of two Wongs in the majors he admits that’s totally beyond any childhood fantasy.

"It would be awesome," said Kolten, who made his debut in August 2013. "It’s crazy to think I’m in the big leagues and he’s on the verge of getting up to this level.

"Hopefully one day to play against him or play with him would be pretty special."

His only regret would be their mother, Keala, who died in 2013 of cancer, won’t be there to see it.

"After that happened I told myself baseball really isn’t that big," said Wong, who has a tattoo on his right arm showing the symbol for cancer, along with one showing her signature with a ribbon tied around it. "Life is so short, so you’ve got to enjoy it and not worry so much about what’s going on and things you can’t control.

"Enjoy what God’s given you and live life as carefree as you can, until it’s your time to go up there."

The death of Taveras in an auto accident last October was further illustration that nothing’s guaranteed. That might be one of the reasons Kolten and longtime girlfriend Alissa Noll will finally make it official this November.

"Me and my fiancée have been together about six years, since she was a freshman in college," said Wong, who expects about 300 guests to attend the ceremony on Oahu. "We’ve been together long enough. We know we don’t want to be with anyone else. It will be an exciting time."

As exciting, though in a much different way, as the moment Kolten Wong knew he belonged in the big leagues. It came last year in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, where Wong hit a dramatic walk-off homer off the Giants’ Sergio Romo to send 46,262 home happy. That proved to be the Cardinals’ lone win in the series.

"I will always say that’s what got me going," said Wong, who hit .278 with two homers and four RBIs in that series, after finishing his rookie season .249 with 12 homers, 42 RBIs and 20 steals. "I didn’t have the best season and thought nothing could go my way. Then I got pretty hot with the bat at the end and finished with 12 home runs. It kind of gave me the confidence I needed to know I could play at this level.

"There are a lot of big guys out there, but I know I can play with them."

Certainly the Cardinals need no convincing.

"He’s an exciting athlete," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "He’s got a great first-step movement defensively and on the bases. He has exceptional power for his size. Good bat speed, which lets him see the ball deeper. Overall he brings every facet of the game with him every day and he’s passionate about it."

Sounds very much like the guy they used to call the "Flyin’ Hawaiian" around here, Shane Victorino.

"I think it’s cool when you want to represent where you’re from, especially an area like Hawaii so far away,” said Cards outfielder Jon Jay. "That’s what Shane was able to do. Now Kolten wants to carry that torch for however long he’s there."

HAWAII’S HIT KINGS
MLB leaders in hits among players born in Hawaii

Source: baseball-reference.com