Steven Kwan: From Washington Husky to MLB All Star

Image from Mr. Rigdon. Top: Steven Kwan, a former Husky.

It is October, which means two things: Fall has officially begun, and it is time for baseball playoffs. The MLB postseason shows what teams have to offer and which can handle the pressure. The 2024 World Series will be between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, who defeated the Cleveland Guardians to become American League champions. Normally this wouldn’t matter for Washington High School. But one of Washington High School’s very own, Steven Kwan, born in Los Gatos and raised in Fremont, is a left fielder for the Guardians. Kwan was drafted in the 2018 MLB draft 163rd overall by the Guardians in the fifth round of picks. This year, his second in the majors, he hit .292, with a .793 OPS, and was a starter in the MLB All Star Game. He excelled in the playoffs this year, hitting .381 and leading his team to the ALCS. The two time Golden Glove Award winner did everything he could to try and carry his team, but the Yankees hitting and pitching staff were too much for the Guardians. 

When attending Washington, Kwan was on the Varsity baseball team all four years. He was still an outfielder, but also was a left handed pitcher. With a career of ten appearances and 32.1 innings pitched, Kwan managed to strike out 35 while only allowing 18 hits. Though Kwan’s defense has won him many golden glove awards, his offensive game is immaculate. Through his four years on Varsity, Kwan had a batting average of .401 with 324 plate appearances and 115 hits total in 93 games. This let Kwan acquire many awards such as the Huskies batting champ twice, an honorable all league mention, and Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) MVP.

After high school, Kwan attended Oregon State, where he also balled out. In three years, Kwan batted .328 in 156 games played. Kwan decided to focus on the outfield instead of pitching. Kwan was awarded a Pac-12 honorable mention and a Pac-12 All Academic mention, recognizing Kwan’s academic and athletic success. 

We asked Mr. Rigdon, a teacher at Washington and former coach of the WHS basketball and baseball teams, on how it felt watching Kwan’s baseball career take off. “[When he] started off his freshman year, it was a little tough, and it was a little tough watching that from afar, but watching how he responded his sophomore and his junior year at Oregon State, you could see that his trajectory was just growing exponentially and he was really on to something,” Rigdon says. “And so watching that at Oregon State and watching the growth in those three years at Oregon State was amazing. That’s when I [thought], he could be special. We knew he could be special in high school, but seeing what he became in those last two years at Oregon State, nothing surprises me anymore.”

Mr. Rigdon also talked about how Kwan was while attending Washington. “He was a solid student,” he says. “He always made sure he got his work done and took care of business in the classroom, but on the field, [he was] just truly special. The hardest worker, our most talented, our most skilled player, but also our hardest worker and our best teammate. Always there for his teammates, always lifting his teammates up, never pointing fingers, never passing.” 

Rigdon went on to recall how “watching [Kwan] hit leadoff in the All Star game for the American League was truly amazing. Truly unreal. Just such a surreal moment. Years ago, a couple of years ago, in his rookie year, I showed his very first at bat to the whole class. It was an opening day against the Royals, and he got a hit that day. That was a really special moment. I know that because of how good he is, not only as a player, but as a teammate and what he brings to the clubhouse, I know that he’ll get a World Series at some point.” 

So, don’t be surprised when the Guardians win a World Series in a few years, and we see representative of Washington High School, Steven Kwan, holding the Commissioner’s trophy up high and spraying champagne.