Joshua Báez waited years for his first MLB start. The St. Louis Cardinals rookie needed exactly one pitch to make it unforgettable.
The 23-year-old delivered a historic debut Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, homering in each of his first three major league plate appearances against the Chicago Cubs. Even more remarkable, Báez hit the three home runs to three different parts of the ballpark and did it against three different types of pitches.
His introduction came immediately.
Batting in the first inning, Báez attacked the first major league pitch he ever saw, a 93-mph fastball from Cubs starter Matt Boyd. He drove it 450 feet to straightaway center field for a two-run homer, putting St. Louis ahead 3-0.
The Cardinals’ dugout erupted as Báez made his first trip around the bases with a smile.
Greatest MLB Debut of All Time
One home run in a first career at-bat would have been enough to make the afternoon memorable. Báez was only getting started.
He faced Boyd again in the fourth inning, but this time the rookie had to work for it. Báez ran the count full before getting a 78-mph changeup. He crushed it 382 feet into the left-field seats, breaking a 3-3 tie and giving St. Louis a 4-3 advantage.
Then came his third trip to the plate.
Boyd tried another approach, throwing Báez an 83-mph slider on the outside portion of the plate. It didn’t matter. Báez sent that pitch 368 feet into the right-field seats for a two-run homer and a 6-3 Cardinals lead.
Three plate appearances. Three home runs.
Báez had made MLB history in his first game.
Three Pitches, Three Fields, Three Home Runs
The way he accomplished it made the performance particularly unusual. The right-handed hitter took a fastball to center, a changeup to left and a slider to right. Rather than repeatedly attacking the same pitch or pulling the ball into one section of Wrigley Field, Báez demonstrated power to every field while adjusting to three different offerings.
His Cardinals teammates appeared stunned by what they were watching, with players in the dugout reacting in disbelief after the third homer.
Eventually, Báez finally recorded an out. In his fourth plate appearance, he lined a ball to Cubs left fielder Ian Happ.
By then, however, the rookie had already turned his major league debut into a game that would be difficult to top.
The power didn’t arrive without warning. Báez was leading Triple-A in home runs when St. Louis called him up Saturday. In 103 Triple-A games, the Boston native had hit .256 with 34 home runs, 90 RBI and 21 stolen bases.
St. Louis selected Báez in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school. For his debut, the Cardinals placed him fifth in the batting order and started him in left field.
Báez Arrives With Cardinals in Wild-Card Hunt
His arrival also comes at an interesting point in the Cardinals’ season. St. Louis entered Saturday with a 61-61 record, sitting 3½ games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the National League’s final wild-card position.
The Cubs, meanwhile, entered the game holding the NL’s top wild-card spot and trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by three games in the NL Central.
Against that backdrop, Báez didn’t ease himself into the majors. He announced his arrival by attacking the first pitch he saw and then proved it wasn’t a one-at-bat burst.
Fastball, changeup, slider. Center, left, right.
For Joshua Báez, the first three trips to the plate in his major league career produced the same result every time: a trip around the bases.
