Big Island honorees

By BILL O’REAR

Tribune-Herald sports editor

A young professional baseball player with a promising future and a longtime volunteer with a big heart woven into the community have been honored for their contributions in 2011.

Kolten Wong, a former University of Hawaii standout and rising star in the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league system, has been named the 2011 Big Island Athlete of the Year. In those 12 months, he finished off his outstanding three-year UH career, was drafted in the first round by the Cardinals, and went on to a highly productive season with the major league club’s Quad Cities River Bandits, a Class A team in Iowa that captured the Midwest League title.

Gerry Meyer, a highly respected baseball coach for decades working with youth, high school and college players, has been selected the 2011 Big Island Sportsperson of the Year. A former star pitcher in his early days, he has spent countless hours helping young players hone their skills on the diamond, a positive trend that has continued for years and years.

Wong was selected 22nd overall in the MLB draft, then hit .335 in 47 games with five homers and 25 runs batted in with the River Bandits. He had a sterling .401 on-base percentage and .510 slugging percentage for a .911 OPS (on-base plus slugging), meaning he got on base and drove in runs — a valuable asset for a player and one that helps fuel wins.

“Kolten is one of the better athletes to come out of here in a long time,” said Stan Costales, a member of the Athlete of the Year and Sportsperson of the Year selection committee.

“But what impresses me about Kolten the most is that he’s humble and how he carries himself. He’s a great role model for the community. He works hard and lets his action speak for themselves. You know with the way he handles himself, he has a bright future and can have a really positive impact with youngsters on the Big Island and throughout the state.”

Wong was a multi-sport standout while at Kamehameha-Hawaii, turned down a pro baseball contract from the Minnesota Twins and then accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Hawaii. He enjoyed three strong seasons and earned various honors, including first team All-America, and led the Rainbows to the Western Athletic Conference tournament title as a sophomore and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Kolten is the son of Kaha and Keala Wong of Hilo.

Kolten’s younger brother Kean, a junior at Waiakea High School, is a star baseball player for the Warriors who has already given a verbal commitment to attend the University of Hawaii on a baseball scholarship. Their sister, Kiani, is a senior at Kamehameha-Hawaii and a star softball player who plans to go on and play that sport in college.

Kaha is a former University of Hawaii at Hilo and University of Southern California baseball standout who played some minor-league ball and has been a highly successful youth baseball coach for decades on the Big Island. Last summer, Coach Wong led the Hilo All-Stars to the Senior League World Series championship, going undefeated while dominating the tournament in Bangor, Maine.

Meyer was a baseball and basketball standout for Honokaa High School in the late 1940s and early 1950s and went on to play collegiate baseball at Fresno State. In 1953, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher and played in the California League. An index finger injury ended his hopes of a major league career.

He returned to the Big Island in 1954 and pitched in the Senior League for several years, winning a host of league honors. In 1960, he hurled five straight shutouts in 102 innings and allowed only two earned runs for a sterling 0.17 earned run average. He finished the year with a 12-2 record, 121 strikeouts and an 0.32 ERA, and was named the league’s most valuable player.

But it has been working with young baseball players that has been a key part of Meyer’s life, one that he continues into his sixth decade.

A former policeman, Meyer has coached at every level on the Big Island, from age group to high school to three years as a University of Hawaii at Hilo assistant to longtime head coach Joey Estrella.

One of the nomination letters supporting Meyer noted: “Over the years, I have had the opportunity to know and work with Coach Meyer as a person and as a coach who volunteers his time unselfishly and without compensation to help kids become better baseball players.

“Throughout the years, Coach Meyer has shared his knowledge and wisdom of baseball with young players in a positive and genuine manner without any self-interest or gain.”

Another letter said: “(Coach Meyer) does it all out of love for the game and love for children. These young men who he mentors are the future. He does not discriminate. All he asks is that you listen and practice and train hard.”

“Gerry Meyer is a former professional baseball player, with a wealth of pitching experience and expertise. He has taught and developed numerous young pitching prospects for many years. We are certainly very fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated individual in our Big Island sports and baseball community,” said Ramon Goya, another member of the Athlete of the Year and Sportperson of the Year selection committee.

Over the years Meyer has worked with many pitchers, including four hurlers — Quintin Torres Costa, Kodi Medeiros, Keenan Nishioka and J.J. Kitaoka — who played on last summer’s Senior League World Champion Hilo All-Stars.

The annual awards are part of the athlete of the month program sponsored by Don’s Grill, under owner Don Hoota. The athlete of the month as well as athlete and sportsperson of the year programs were founded by the late Jack Matsui. Wong, also the 2007 Big Island Athlete of the Year winner, and Meyer each received a plaque and a $100 gift certificate from Don’s Grill.

The monthly winners and athlete of the year are chosen by the program’s selection committee, which includes Costales, Hugh Clark, Goya and chairman Bill O’Rear. The sportsperson of the year is chosen from nominations submitted by the public.

In 2010, Pahoa High School’s Isaiah Ekau was named the Big Island Athlete of the Year while the late Harry Scanlan-Leite was honored as the Sportsperson of the Year.

Ekau, a physically dominating 6-foot-2 basketball/volleyball player, led Pahoa to the state D-II boys basketball championship and a runner-up finish at the state D-II boys volleyball tournament on Oahu.

Scanlan-Leite led the Cardinals to the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II boys basketball title, the school’s first since 1974. The Cards then went on to the state tournament and after falling to defending state champion Kailua in their opener, won their final two games, including knocking off top-seeded Roosevelt.

Scanlan-Leite was also recognized for his voluntary work with young basketball players throughout the state for over 20 years.

Email Tribune-Herald sports editor Bill O’Rear at borear@hawaiitribune-herald.com.