Joshua Báez Shines with Historic Home Run Debut

In Chicago, Joshua Báez made an impressive entrance into Major League Baseball. He launched the first pitch he faced in the majors approximately 450 feet for a home run. With a grin directed at the St. Louis Cardinals’ dugout, Báez began his triumphant home run trot. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol expressed his admiration, saying, “There was a calmness and a smile, like, ‘I’m here.’ It’s rare for me to pick my head up to enjoy parts of it. He didn’t exactly give us an option but to actually take a step back and enjoy the heck out of what was going on there.”

Báez achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the first player to hit a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the majors. His performance led the Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. Báez had been called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, and 30 members of his family were present at Wrigley Field to witness his debut. After the game, despite the rain, his family, including his mother Yris, gathered on the field for photos.

“It’s just unreal,” said the 23-year-old Báez. “To not only get a hit, but three home runs? It’s crazy.” MLB noted that Báez became the first player in modern baseball history to hit three home runs in his debut. However, the league cannot confirm if this occurred before 1901 due to incomplete game logs.

Báez’s first home run came on the first pitch from Matthew Boyd, landing an estimated 449 feet away in the left-center bleachers. His second at-bat also ended with a solo shot down the left-field line, and his third flew in the opposite direction, resulting in five RBIs. Cubs manager Craig Counsell commented, “He hit three different pitches for home runs. He had a great game. He beat us for sure.”

This performance mirrored Báez’s minor league success, as he led all Triple-A hitters with 34 home runs this season, including four multihomer games. This year, he became the ninth player to debut for the Cardinals. Bayez also joined a select group as the 11th St. Louis player to homer in his first career at-bat, and the sixth to do so on the first pitch. The last Cardinals player to achieve this was Lane Thomas in 2019, while former pitcher Adam Wainwright was the last to homer on the first pitch in 2006.