Cardinals’ Joshua Baez makes history with three home runs in MLB debut

Joshua Baez's first MLB game quickly turned into one for the record books as the St. Louis Cardinals rookie hit three home runs in his debut on Saturday. He became the first player in league history to accomplish said feat in their debut.

In a midday NL Central matchup against the Chicago Cubs, Baez first went yard in the top of the first inning, crushing the first pitch he saw 449 feet. The Cardinals rookie would smack his second homer off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd in the fourth inning, catching every bit of a changeup and sending it 382 feet over the left field wall at Wrigley Field.

Then came the record-setting dinger in the sixth, sending an 83 m.p.h. slider from Boyd toward the outside of the zone 368 feet.

Baez, 23, entered the day as the No. 59-ranked prospect in MLB, and No. 3 in the Cardinals pipeline.

And those rankings could be in for an update after his 3-for-3 start at the plate and five RBI in just his first MLB game.

Baez was a second-round pick of the 2021 draft by the Cardinals. The Boston native has worked up the minors since then, spending most of 2026 with triple-A Memphis, where he's slashed .256/.328/.573 with 34 home runs and 90 RBI through 103 games.