Cardinals' Slugging Star Makes MLB History with Three HRs in First Three At Bats

Three at bats, three different kinds of pitches and three historic homers for Cardinals slugging star Joshua Báez in his MLB debut at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

Báez, 23, made MLB history on Saturday when he homered in the first three at bats of his big-league career. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound slugger, who was promoted after leading the Minor Leagues in homers with 34 and RBI with 90, drilled a 449-foot shot in the first inning off a Matthew Boyd fastball. Then, Báez led off the fourth inning with a 382-foot line-drive of a homer off a 3-2 changeup. In the third at bat of his MLB career, Baez went with a Boyd slider on the outside corner and drove it 368 feet and over the wall in right-center.

Báez's magic finally ended in his fourth at bat when he lined out to left field for an out. Even after making an out, Wrigley Field's sell-out crowd gave the rookie a standing ovation.

Báez, a second-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft who struggled in his first four seasons of professional baseball, became the first player in the history of the game to homer in the first three at bats of his career. Following his breakout season in 2025, when he jumped from High-A to Double-A baseball, Báez put himself on the MLB radar by smacking 34 long balls this season at Triple-A Memphis. He smacked four homers on June 16 for Triple-A Memphis, the three-year anniversary of the passing of his father.

Baez, who was born in Boston, lived for a time in the Dominican Republic and moved back to Massachusetts for high school, helped the Cardinals jump to a 7-3 lead over the rival Cubs through the first six innings of Saturday’s game.  

Earlier in the game, Báez became just the fifth Cardinals player in the storied history of the franchise to homer on the first pitch he saw at the big-league level. He then became just the fourth player in MLB history to homer in the first two at bats of his MLB career.

After his first home run off the first pitch that he ever saw at the big-league level, Báez flashed a big smile as he strutted out of the batter’s box and made his way around the bases. After getting to the dugout and being presented with the Cardinals’ home run chain, Báez quickly removed the gold plastic “You Got That Dog In You” medallion and laid it to the side of the bat rack.

Following his second and third homers, Báez found the approximately 30 family and friends sitting behind home plate and joyously pointed toward the group.

“She knew that one days he was going to be here, in the majors, because he was such a determined person,” Báez’s mother, Yris, said via a family member interpreting from Spanish to English on Cardinals TV. “She’s just so excited right now.”