Cardinals vs. Red Sox is also Big Island vs. Maui. Wailuku’s Shane Victorino starts in right field for Boston and St. Louis manager Mike Matheny announced Tuesday that Kolten Wong of Hilo has made the Cardinals’ 25-man roster.

The choice of Wong is a pleasant surprise, since clutch-hitting first baseman Allen Craig is coming back from a foot injury and I wasn’t the only one who thought Wong and his .153 batting average (.000 in five postseason plate appearances) might be bid a fond aloha until spring training.

But the rookie from Hilo will be suited up today as St. Louis and Boston meet in Game 1 — and as I will get to later, there are some good reasons for that.

This is the first time two locally bred players meet in the Fall Classic, or even participate in the same one. The closest thing to it previously was 1986, when Sid Fernandez and Ron Darling were teammates for the Mets. Both were born in Hawaii and Fernandez was one of the toughest high school pitchers ever in the islands, at Kaiser. but Darling (who is of Hawaiian ethnicity) left Maui with his family when he was young.

Both Victorino and Wong are as local as you can get — and both are 5 feet 9 and proof you don’t have to be a physical giant to succeed at baseball’s highest level.

You know how much these guys mean to Hawaii’s kids if you remember all the Little League World Series players from Waipio naming Victorino as their favorite player, or the long lines of youngsters to get autographs from Wong after his University of Hawaii games just a couple of years ago.

Although their baseball skill sets are alike — defense, speed and line-drive power — their roles are very dissimilar heading into the Series. Victorino is an established veteran, a two-time All-Star who has thrived under postseason pressure, winning the World Series with the Phillies in 2008 and slamming the Red Sox into this one on Saturday. Wong is a rookie who was in the minors three months ago.

But that’s not to say Wong won’t have a role in the outcome of the Series. When it shifts to St. Louis for the middle games, pitchers will hit again, increasing the chance that Wong enters late in a close game in a double-switch or as a pinch hitter. He could also be used as a pinch runner, perhaps for Craig and his tender foot.

I don’t know if Matheny is aware of Wong’s history of playing outfield and catcher as recently as college. Either way, versatility that includes some experience behind the plate is a nice little bonus to have on the bench — one that is unlikely offered by the player who got bumped, left-handed throwing outfielder Adron Chambers.

Wong has had difficulties with big league pitching, but he’s been errorless on 65 defensive chances and is 3-for-3 stealing bases.

Whatever happens after it’s all over, a Hawaii product comes home with a World Series championship.

———

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783 or on Twitter as @dave_reardon.