Joey Kawika Wong (born April 12, 1988) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who played internationally for the Chinese national baseball team in 2017, and is currently a coach at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. He was drafted by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in the 24th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.

Playing career

Amateur

Wong attended

Sprague High School Charles A. Sprague High School, known as Sprague High School, is a high school in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of Salem, Oregon, United States. The school is named after Charles A. Sprague, who served as Oregon's governor from 1939 to 1943. Acad ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, and

. Playing

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

, Wong was a member of the

2007 College World Series The 2007 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was held from June 1 to 24, . Sixty-four NCAA Division I college baseball teams advanced to the post season tournament after having played through a regular season, and for some, a conference tourname ...

champions. In 2007 and 2008, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Falmouth Commodores of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Colorado Rockies

The

selected Wong in the 24th round of the 2009 MLB draft. He made his professional debut with the Low-A

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home gam ...

. In 2010, Wong played for the Single-A Asheville Tourists, posting a .223/.296/.311 slash line in 84 games. He returned to Asheville in 2011, and hit .286/.353/.408 with 6 home runs and 55 RBI in 101 games. In 2012, Wong split the season between Tri-City, Asheville, and the High-A Modesto Nuts, accumulating a .241/.321/.339 slash line with 1 home run and 20 RBI between the three teams. The following year, Wong played for the Double-A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, posting a .240/.304/.330 slash line with 2 home runs and 19 RBI. Wong returned to Tulsa in 2014, but struggled, hitting .221/.285/.298 with 2 home runs and 18 RBI. In 2015, he split the year between the Low-A Boise Hawks, the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats, and the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, batting a cumulative .248/.304/.326 with no home runs and 23 RBI. On November 6, 2015, he elected free agency, but re-signed with the organization on a minor league contract on December 4. For the 2016 season, Wong returned to Albuquerque, logging a .233/.343/.302 slash line with 1 home run and 28 RBI in 91 games.

Seattle Mariners

On March 15, 2017, Wong signed a minor league contract with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

organization. He split the year between the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, slashing .239/.358/.291 with 3 home runs and 34 RBI. On November 6, 2017, he elected free agency.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On February 7, 2018, Wong signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 18 games with the Blue Crabs, Wong logged a .239/.337/.268 slash line with no home runs and 5 RBI.

New York Mets

Wong's contract was purchased by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization on May 19, 2018. After hitting just .196 between the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s and the Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

, Wong was released by the organization on August 4, 2018.

St. Paul Saints

On August 7, 2018, Wong signed with the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He appeared in 26 games with the Saints, batting .272/.385/.358 with 1 home run and 12 RBI. Wong batted .218/.322/.374 in 40 games with St. Paul in 2019 before he was released by the team on September 17, 2019.

International play

Wong competed for the Chinese national baseball team in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

Coaching career

On August 6, 2019, Wong returned to his alma mater,

, as an undergraduate assistant coach.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Joey 1988 births 2017 World Baseball Classic players African-American baseball players Albuquerque Isotopes players American baseball players of Chinese descent Arkansas Travelers players Asheville Tourists players Baseball infielders Baseball players from Oregon Binghamton Rumble Ponies players Boise Hawks players Falmouth Commodores players Living people Modesto Nuts players New Britain Rock Cats players Oregon State Beavers baseball players Perth Heat players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Sportspeople from Salem, Oregon St. Paul Saints players Tri-City Dust Devils players Tulsa Drillers players Tacoma Rainiers players Minor league baseball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people