It’s never been done before, and it may never be again.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ Joshua Báez became the first rookie to hit three home runs in his MLB debut Saturday — but he’s also the only one to hit them in his first three at-bats.
Now that is quite simply phenomenal.
Most rooks are just trying to get through their debut games without any serious errors and maybe make a play or two if possible. I can’t imagine too many of them are hoping they’ll strike gold their first three times at the plate, because the statistics must be off the charts. (No, I’m not good enough at math to calculate the odds, but seeing that it’s never happened before in the 150-year history of the league, I feel like my statement stands up).
I asked AI, but then a data center exploded in my area. OK, not really.
But let’s play ball! Here’s how the 23-year-old started his major league career: he blasted the first pitch he saw, a 93-mph fastball hurled by Chicago Cubs starter Matt Boyd, 450 feet straight to center at Chi-Town's Wrigley Field for a two-run homer.
That, as they say, is a grand entrance:
Joshua Baez absolutely smokes the first pitch he sees in the majors for a home run!
— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) August 15, 2026
pic.twitter.com/aBC7Qnnq1O
You already know the outcome of the story, but we still need to visit the plot points along the way. Already a crowd favorite in his debut performance, Baez came back to the plate in the fourth inning and promptly took a full-count Boyd 78-mph changeup and smacked it 382 feet into the left-field seats.
The Cardinals’ X account was getting a little excited:
TWO HOMERS FOR JOSHUA BÁEZ IN HIS BIG LEAGUE DEBUT! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ojdN2pyy4x
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 15, 2026
But wait, there’s more! And why leave right field out of it, since we've already talked about center and left? I feel a bit sorry for the pitcher, Boyd, though, because he’s going down in history too after Baez smoked his slider 368 feet to right.
Now the Cards X account was really getting worked up:
MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY!!
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 15, 2026
THREE homers for Joshua Báez in his MLB debut! pic.twitter.com/aaxFwtSQku
Whew. What a performance, one for the ages.
3 home runs in his first 3 Major League at-bats 😤
— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2026
Did Joshua Báez put on the best MLB debut EVER?! pic.twitter.com/P43Qi4d4cn
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Baez had been called up from the minors before the game and had 30 family members in attendance.
"It's just unreal," said Baez, the fourth-ranked prospect in the Cardinals' system and No. 93 overall, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel. "To not only get a hit, but three home runs? It's crazy."
Oh yeah, and he led the Cards to an 8-4 victory over the Cubbies. His feat gives new meaning to the sports saying, “He came out hot.”
Baez will get his next chance to light up the stat sheet on Sunday night in another game against the Cubs. I don’t usually have time to watch a whole lot of b’ball till the playoffs roll around, but I might have to make an exception this time around.
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