There’s an old saying that “You can only make a first impression once,” and Joshua Báez clearly took that adage to heart. The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder made his Major League Baseball debut on Saturday with one of the greatest first impression in history. Báez hit a home run in each of his first three at bats, making him the first player ever to do so in the 151-year history of the Major Leagues.
With three homers and five RBI, Báez’s offense alone was enough for the Cards to knock off their divisional rival Chicago Cubs by an 8–4 score. But the outcome of the game is secondary to Báez’s feats.
The 23-year-old was slotted fifth in the batting order, and his first homer came in the first inning in the very first MLB pitch he saw. He launched a fastball from Matthew Boyd over the center field fence, with an estimated distance of 449 feet. It was a two-run shot with Alec Burleson on first base.
Báez then came to the plate for a second time in the top of the fourth inning, which he led off. He went deep into the count this time and worked it in his favor; he started 0–2 before seeing three straight balls to reach a full count. On the sixth pitch, Báez, again, got the better of Boyd with a 382-foot solo dinger to left field.
Then in the top of the sixth inning, and with Boyd still on the mound, the pitcher walked Burleson to bring Báez to the plate. With homers already to left and to center, Báez showed that he’s an equal opportunist and launched one over the right field wall, scoring Burleson in the process.
Two batters later, Blaze Jordan then also homered, which ended Boyd’s time on the mound. Perhaps seeing another pitcher on the mound is the only thing that kept Báez from tying MLB history with a four-homer game when he came to the plate for a final time in the eighth inning.
Facing reliever Colin Rea, Báez had a 2–2 count when the pitcher threw an 83 mph sweeper low in the zone. Báez made contact on the pitch but instead of going over the outfield wall, it was a liner to the left fielder.
Báez’s three long balls were among the five that the Cardinals hit on Saturday, as St. Louis went back over .500 with a 62–61 record. The Cards also knotted up their season series with Chicago, as each squad has won six games across their 12 matchups.
After the game, Báez was asked if he knew that his third home run in his third at bat made MLB history.
“To be honest, I was just really glad that the ball went over the wall, I had no idea,” Báez said. “I just started running, and then I saw that it went over. I was like, ‘This is insane.’ Then my teammates were so pumped up.”
While no one in the Cardinals organization expected a debut like this, they did expect Báez to make an impact in the Big Leagues. He was the Cardinals’ No. 3 overall prospect, and No. 59 overall prospect in the minors, before being promoted earlier on Saturday. The 23-year-old Dominican American from Boston hit 34 home runs with St. Louis’s AAA club this season, after launching 20 homers across AA and A+ last season.
Báez had been in the minors since 2021, when the Cardinals drafted him in the second round. Prior to entering the minors, Báez was the Massachusetts Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year in 2020 at Dexter Southfield School.
With part of six seasons in the minors, Báez certainly paid his dues to warrant a promotion to the Big League club. The road that he traveled is one of the reasons why the Cards thought he was ready for The Show, as manager Oliver Marmol said.
“The performance speaks for itself,” Marmol said, according to MLB. “But there are the things I’m more curious about—how consistent are they, as far as how they come in, how they prepare, how they handle failure, how they handle success. And those are by far the most consistent and highly talked-about things when it comes to Báez.
“I like that path way more than the checkboxes to get here. They get to experience a little bit of what it’s going to be like up here. That is the big leagues. You’re going to go through some real downs, and he has something to point back to as far as being able to get through it.”
Coming into this game, St. Louis had the third-fewest home runs in the National League, the lowest slugging percentage, and the lowest OPS. Thus, Báez’s power is certainly a needed injection into the roster as the Cardinals look to fight for a postseason berth. They are 13 games back of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, but St. Louis is right in the thick of the Wild Card race, sitting just three games back of the final Wild Card spot.
