ST. LOUIS — In simple terms, Kolten Wong is on fire.
Through nine games, the Cardinals' second baseman is in (or at least tied in) the top ten in the majors in average, OBP, SLG, OPS, home runs and stolen bases.
Wong has done a little bit of everything for the Cardinals in 2019.
He leads the Cardinals in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, hits, runs and stolen bases. (although Matt Wieters technically leads in OBP with one at-bat this season).
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has proven his commitment to Wong in 2019, penciling him in the lineup even if the opposing starter is a lefty.
Shildt's confidence does not go unnoticed by Wong.
"When you have someone who's on your side and believes in you, it helps you believe in yourself," Wong said. "That's all I ever wanted, someone to trust in me and believe in me and give me the opportunity to believe in myself."
The Cardinals' manager sees Wong as a guy who can contribute to the club in a number of ways, and used a basketball analogy to illustrate his point.
"He's got a three pointer, he can go to the rim and he can dunk," Shildt said. "So he can do a lot of different things.
The Hawaii native has thrived so far in 2019 with a chance to show what he can really do.
"I took all that emotion of worrying about what people think and threw it out the window," Wong said."I'm going to play Kolten Wong's game and how I know I can be successful in this league."