Joshua Báez Makes Historic MLB Debut

Joshua Báez, a rookie for the St. Louis Cardinals, made headlines with an extraordinary start to his Major League Baseball career. Playing against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Báez etched his name in the history books by hitting a home run in each of his first three at-bats.

In his debut appearance, the 23-year-old sent the first pitch he faced 450 feet to dead center field. This two-run homer gave the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead. Facing Cubs pitcher Matt Boyd, Báez exploited a 93-mph fastball for this remarkable start.

Báez’s second and third home runs came in subsequent innings off Boyd’s pitches. In the fourth inning, he sent a 78-mph changeup 382 feet into the left-field seats, adjusting the score to a 4-3 lead for the Cardinals. His third homer of the day came from an 83-mph slider, sending the ball 368 feet into the right-field stands, furthering the Cardinals’ advantage to 6-3.

Báez achieved this feat by targeting all fields with different types of pitches. His power display in the first game was staggering. Although in his fourth at-bat, Báez lined out to Cubs’ left fielder Ian Happ, the Cardinals maintained an 8-4 lead by the ninth inning.

Prior to joining the Cardinals, Báez led in home runs at the Triple-A level. His stats included a .256 average, 34 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases over 103 games. Drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, the Cardinals envision him as part of a promising young lineup.

Despite not initially forecasted to compete aggressively this season, the Cardinals surprised many by reaching a 61-61 record. They were only 3.5 games behind in the race for the National League Wild Card spot, trailing teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Cubs held the top Wild Card position in the National League at the time, positioned three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.