St. Louis Cardinals: How the class of Kolten Wong helped me battle depression

During the 2013 World Series, a St. Louis Cardinals second baseman made the biggest mistake of his young career. But, that mistake, more so his handling of it, and how it affected my life at the time, made me a lifelong fan.

One mistake. A large lead. A slip of a foot. A heart-breaking loss. And, for one St. Louis Cardinals second baseman, a sudden thrust into the fire.

We are all humans (forgive the assumptions, my alien friends reading this), flawed beings, prone to errors. “We all make mistakes,” as they say. But, even those who will utter that quote have more than likely been guilty at one time or another of judging someone else for making one.

That is a given, right? I mean, like I said, we are human, we have biases, different limits to what is forgivable and what is not

But, the main question should be, “Should one person’s character,” or in the case of the player that this article is about, “should one person’s career be judged by said mistake?”

I asked my self that same question just a few years ago.

Injuries And An improbable Run

A Game Of Imperfections

It’s something everyone has to deal with at eventual points in their lives. But, some deal with it better than others. For me, the idea of failure was something that crippled me.

It dragged me down, it made me depressed. Before I knew it, that depression turned clinical. And, by the time the 2013 baseball season was wrapping up, and my beloved Cardinals found themselves in the fall classic yet again, I was almost too down to care.

Things started to look up thanks to an incident that happened during a World Series game. It was the bottom of the 9th inning in game four. The Boston Red Sox were three outs away from evening up the series at two games a piece. To ensure that happened, they sent their closer Koji Uehara to the mound.

After a relatively quick dispatching of infielder Daniel Descalso, first baseman Allen Craig would come to the plate.

Craig, whom was a hitting machine for the Cardinals, batting .315, and knocking in ninety-seven runs, en route to his first all-star appearance, found himself hobbling to the batter’s box, rather than striding, thanks to a foot injury suffered in early September.

Craig sent a 1-1 pitch from Uehara, that would normally have been extra bases, into the outfield, and off the left field wall for a long single. The next move was an easy decision for the manager Mike Matheny. Time to get some speed on the base paths.

A Different Point Of View

Thus, out of the game went the injury-riddled all star, and in came rookie Kolten Wong. The light-hitting twenty-three year old, only hit .153 in fifty-nine at-bats, whom this time last year was swinging lumber in double-A Springfield, now found himself on the field for a pivotal game in the World Series. Just like that, he was in the fire.

Up came a player who took MLB by storm in 2013 named Matt Carpenter. Seen by many as a surprise, Carpenter knocked in 199 hits, as he found himself an all-star, and sixth in National League MVP voting. Carpenter, like he still is known to do today, worked the count into his favor before popping out to second base on a 2-1 count.

Then, up came the veteran, Carlos Beltran. Arguably a borderline Hall of Fame player, a three-time Gold Glove winning outfielder, eight-time all-star, and two-time silver slugger. Despite all of his success, Beltran was still chasing an ever-elusive championship ring. Here he was, with his team down two and down to their last out, Beltran had the chance (and the ability) to tie the game.

With Wong being held at first, Beltran took the first pitch low for ball one. After a quick deep breath, the veteran looked at a strike on the inside corner, evening the count at 1-1.

With the crowd at a constant buzz, here came the next pitch. Or, so thought Wong.

A Check On The Runner

Imagine being in Kolten Wong’s shoes. At the time, I was only three years Wong’s junior, twenty years of age, and I was at the lowest point in my life thus far. Depressed. Full of self-pity, and hatred. Busy doing mental gymnastics.

Anyone suffering with depression can relate. The mindset of beating yourself up over every little thing. Every tiny mistake. But, what was about to happen to Kolten Wong made whatever worries I had pale in comparison.

As Carlos Beltran readied himself for the next Uehara pitch, a snap throw came into first base.

It froze him.

One of the most beautiful things about the game Kolten Wong loved playing, the fact that, in one instant, in one split second, the whole complexion of a game can change. And, it did.

Wong had been picked off. With the St. Louis Cardinals’ best chance to tie the game at the plate, he had just made the last out at first base.

The crowd was shocked. As was I. But, no one more so than Wong himself. As the Red Sox celebrated their win, Wong slammed his hand down in frustration, followed by his helmet. He knew he had just become the scapegoat.

Repercussions

What then followed is what changed this fan’s outlook on life. A young, twenty-three-year-old kid, whom had just found himself thrown into the fire, was about to be thrown into another. This one much more intense than the last. Wong was about to face the harsh grilling of the press, and the scorn of a group of upset fans.

I cannot lie. I was upset, as well. I brooded, and asked myself, “How could he have let that happen?” I was anti-Kolten Wong. Until I saw how he handled himself.

With tears in his eyes, and nobody to blame but himself, Kolten Wong stood up against the grilling of the media, and the slings and arrows of the fans, and said, “This one is one me.”

That took courage. An unspeakable amount, that up to that point in my life I couldn’t have had even in my wildest dreams. However, at that point I had decided, if a kid like Kolten Wong could stand up under such adversity and shoulder such a large amount of blame, I could stand up against my own issues.

I could now aspire to have such courage. To face adversity, to make mistakes and move on, and to never let it get me down.

Redemption

It is now 2017. With the baseball season well underway, I find myself still looking at the St. Louis Cardinals and their young second baseman as a source of inspiration. And, I am proud to say that I’m doing better.

Like a baseball player, I struggle occasionally with my depression. It is a battle, but, a battle that I implore anyone fighting to keep doing so. The low points are vastly less frequent than the high points now. And I am happy for myself. But, I am just as happy for the athlete who helped inspire me.

Kolten Wong has improved vastly since the 2013 season. His offensive production has increased, he is quickly becoming that of a fan favorite with the St. Louis faithful.

Next: Power player trades for the Cardinals

I, as a fan since that night in 2013, am happy to say, that like myself, Kolten Wong is finding himself.