Joshua Báez waited years for his opportunity with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Then he needed only three at-bats to make Major League Baseball history.
The highly touted Cardinals prospect delivered an almost unimaginable debut Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, launching home runs in each of his first three major league at-bats.
Yes, three at-bats. Three home runs.
Báez became the first player in MLB history to homer in each of his first three career plate appearances, turning one of the most anticipated debuts of the Cardinals’ season into a historic afternoon.
Joshua Báez Announces His Arrival in Historic Fashion
Báez didn’t exactly ease himself into the majors.
He homered on the first pitch he saw in his MLB career, immediately giving Cardinals fans a glimpse of the enormous power that made him one of the organization’s most intriguing prospects.
Then he did it again.
And again.
The Cardinals celebrated the astonishing performance on social media, writing, “MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY!! THREE homers for Joshua Báez in his MLB debut!”
The first two alone put Báez in extraordinarily rare company. Before Saturday, only Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns in 1951 and Keith McDonald of the Cardinals in 2000 had homered in each of their first two major league at-bats.
Báez took things one enormous step further with No. 3.
Suddenly, a 23-year-old making his first appearance in the majors had accomplished something nobody else in MLB history had done.
Cardinals May Have Found Their Next Young Star
The incredible debut didn’t exactly come out of nowhere.
Báez had been destroying Triple-A pitching before receiving his promotion. In 103 games for Memphis this season, he hit .256 with a .901 OPS while crushing 34 home runs, driving in 90 runs and stealing 21 bases.
His 34 homers and 90 RBIs both led Triple-A at the time of his promotion.
That followed a breakout 2025 campaign in which Báez hit .287 with 20 home runs, 79 RBIs and 54 stolen bases between High-A and Double-A.
The Cardinals originally selected Báez in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Dexter Southfield School in Massachusetts. His development wasn’t always a straight line, but his combination of power, athleticism and speed eventually made him one of the organization’s premier young talents.
Saturday was supposed to provide the Cardinals with their first look at whether Báez’s massive minor league production could translate against major league pitching.
Three swings changed the conversation entirely.
One game certainly can’t determine what Báez’s career will become. But as first impressions go, it is difficult to imagine anything better.
Joshua Báez arrived in the majors Saturday.
By his third at-bat, he had already made history.
About the author
Rodney Knuppel
Trending News Writer, Athlon Sports
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