Cardinals Rookie Hits 3 Home Runs in MLB Debut

Joshua Báez spent five years working toward his first Major League at-bat and needed just one pitch to make it legendary.

The Cardinals rookie launched the first pitch he saw on Saturday into center field for a home run. Then he did it again in his second at-bat. And then, impossibly, he stepped up in the sixth inning and made history nobody had ever seen before.

Three at-bats. Three home runs. One unforgettable debut.

Báez became the first player in MLB history to hit three home runs in his debut game, powering the Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs in what Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol called "must-watch TV."

The 23-year-old crushed his first homer 449 feet to dead center on a 93.4 mph fastball from Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd. As he rounded the bases and approached the dugout, he flashed a grin at his new teammates.

"I was pretty much calm," Báez said after the game. "For me to not only get a hit, but hit three home runs is just crazy."

His second homer came two innings later, a 382-foot shot down the left-field line that made him just the ninth player ever to homer twice in his debut. By his third at-bat, the Cardinals knew they were watching something special.

Then Báez made it unprecedented. He drove a pitch the opposite way to right field, sending a line drive 368 feet over the wall. "I had no idea," Báez said. "I just started running, and then I seen that it went over and I was like, 'This is insane.'"

By his fourth plate appearance, even the Wrigley Field crowd rose to its feet, captivated by the possibility of a fourth homer. Báez lined out to left field, but the crowd applauded anyway.

Why This Inspires

Marmol said it's rare for him to stop during a game and simply appreciate what he's witnessing, but Báez didn't give him a choice. The last time the manager remembered pausing to soak in a moment? Watching Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run.

Starting pitcher Michael McGreevy watched the second and third homers on a monitor from under the dugout. His reaction said it all: "Dude, holy crap."

Báez became the first Cardinals position player to homer on his first Major League pitch since July 2000, turning years of hard work into one afternoon nobody will ever forget.