Joshua Báez delivered an MLB debut for the ages on Saturday.
With his family watching from the stands at Wrigley Field, Báez launched three home runs, beginning with a 449-foot blast on the very first pitch he saw. It is hard to imagine a better introduction to the Major Leagues.
MLB Issues seven remarkable stats and facts from Báez’s historic debut
• Báez became the first player in MLB history to hit three home runs in his debut. Considering more than 23,000 players have appeared in the league, that is an incredible accomplishment.
• Báez didn’t simply hit three homers. He went deep in each of his first three career at-bats, becoming the first player ever to accomplish that feat. His second home run also made him just the second player to homer in his first two career at-bats in the same game, joining Bob Nieman, who did it for the St. Louis Browns on Sept. 14, 1951. Keith McDonald later accomplished the same feat for the Cardinals from July 4-6, 2000. That means all three players to homer in their first two career at-bats have done so for St. Louis teams. Baseball really is something else.
• Báez also became just the second player ever to hit each of his first three career home runs in the same game. The only other player to do it was Seby Zavala, who accomplished the feat on July 31, 2021, in his 18th career game.
• Before Báez, the earliest a player had recorded a three-homer game in his career was his 10th game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Aristides Aquino did it on Aug. 10, 2019, while Bobby Estalella accomplished it on Sept. 4, 1997. Báez has now completely rewritten that record by doing it in his very first game.
• Even hitting two home runs in an MLB debut is extremely rare. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Báez became just the ninth player in MLB history to hit at least two homers in his first career regular-season game. Remarkably, he is also the third player to accomplish that this year, joining José Fernández on March 31 and Chase DeLauter on March 26 after DeLauter had debuted in the postseason. Before 2026, the feat had been achieved by just six players: Trevor Story, J.P. Arencibia, Mark Quinn, Bert Campaneris, Bob Nieman and Charlie Reilly. Yet none of them hit three in their debut game.
• Báez’s debut would have been noteworthy even with just one home run. He became the 11th player in Cardinals history to homer in his first career at-bat. He also became the first Cardinals player to hit a home run on the first pitch of his first career at-bat since Adam Wainwright did it on May 24, 2006.
• And then there is that first home run. Báez crushed the opening pitch 449 feet. Among the five players to homer on the first pitch of their first career at-bat during the Statcast era, which began in 2015, Báez’s blast traveled the farthest.
That is quite an introduction to the Major Leagues.