The St. Louis Cardinals’ homegrown star joined another homegrown star, Jordan Walker, in the lineup at Wrigley Field. It took Joshua Báez five years of developing his skills in the minor leagues to get the call. And he made it unforgettable.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Báez in the second round of the MLB Draft out of his high school, Dexter Southfield, back in 2021. Since then, his pro baseball career has been in the making within the Cardinals’ farm system. This year, the Cardinals promoted Báez to Triple-A Memphis, where he put his raw power on display. The 23-year-old was leading all of Triple-A in homers with 34 long balls (2nd most in the minors) when he was called to the big leagues. And what unfolded in his debut was historic.

“HISTORY FOR JOSHUA BAEZ!” Jomboy Media wrote on X, posting his third homer on Saturday. “HE’S THE FIRST PLAYER IN MLB HISTORY TO HOMER IN HIS FIRST THREE CAREER AT-BATS!”

On Saturday, the Cardinals’ No. 3 Prospect started dismantling the Chicago Cubs’ pitching from the first inning. With the Cardinals leading 1-0, Báez walked out to face veteran Matthew Boyd with Alec Burleson on first. The Cardinals rookie launched his first big-league pitch, a 93-mph fastball, 449 feet away in center field, scoring Burleson. His two-run shot gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

Throughout the night, Báez continued pushing the Cardinals. With the score tied at 3-3, manager Oliver Marmol again sent Báez to the rescue in the top of the fourth.

This time, he took five pitches to get a feel for Boyd’s pitching. On a full-count pitch, he did not hesitate. Báez pulled the changeup to 382 feet left for a solo shot. His second home run put the Cardinals back in the lead at 4-3.

After hitting 2 homers in his first two at-bats, Báez matched Bob Nieman, who recorded the same feat on September 14, 1951. This year, the Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Jose Fernandez also went deep twice during his MLB debut on March 31. But then, Báez went a step ahead.

He was at the plate again in the top of the sixth, after Boyd allowed a leadoff walk to Burleson. The rookie finished off in style, and this time on a slider.

Báez blasted the ball to right, scoring Burleson for the second time. The Cardinals were now leading 6-3.

After Báez, this year’s Home Run Derby winner, Jordan Walker, hit a solo shot with one out to increase the lead to 7-3.

By the end of Saturday’s 8-4 win, Báez went 3-for-4, with 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, and 12 total bases. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, “Báez is only the second player to hit each of his first three home runs in the same game at all, joining Seby Zavala on July 31, 2021, in his 18th career game.”

At the time, Zavala was 27, playing his second MLB season. But Joshua Báez caught his break in his very first appearance.

As Báez scripted MLB history, Matthew Boyd bore all the heat. After the game, Boyd shared his reaction to the 23-year-old’s debut.

“He’s a good player. There’s a reason why he’s called up,” Boyd said, per MLB.com. “He’s talented. He’s a good hitter. My mentality: You don’t attack anybody any differently. He just, he got the better of me today.”

Even the commentators couldn’t hold back from calling Báez the “future” after experiencing his energy on the field. And as he swung his last homer to right field, past Seiya Suzuki, we could watch a proud Jordan Walker celebrating that history, along with the rest of the dugout, while Iván Herrera was in complete disbelief, with hands over his head.

When Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was asked about the reason for calling up the No. 3 prospect before the game, the faith in Báez’s physical ability and mental confidence was evident.

“It doesn’t quietly whisper. It screams at you when you watch this kid for any length of time,” Marmol had noted.

At 18, Báez was sure to hit the big leagues in two years, but he shared the effort it took to reach here at 23.

“It’s a roller coaster. You have to go through so many things on and off the field. It’s not just baseball. It’s the mental side of it. … I was just an 18-year-old, and I had no idea,” he said, referring to all the adjustments and struggles.

After his 3rd homer, Báez himself was stunned.

“I was just really glad that the ball went over the wall. had no idea. So I just started running, and then I seen that it went over and I was like, ‘This is insane.’,” he opened up about the ball that traveled 368 ft to create history.

But his power bat is nothing new for the Cardinals camp.

Joshua Báez was hitting at a .256 AVG, with 90 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and a .901 OPS across 103 games at Triple-A Memphis.

During Saturday’s game, the Cardinals scored 8 runs on 7 hits. The run support from Báez and the rest of the lineup made starter Michael McGreevy’s outing smoother.

“I love when history gives me run support,” McGreevy joked to MLB.com about the third HR while also reminding the league of his power.

With a 3.48 ERA across 24 starts, McGreevy allowed 3 runs on 5 hits across 6 innings on Saturday.

As the Cardinals improved to 62-61 and moved within 3.5 games of an NL Wild Card spot, manager Marmol spoke about Báez’s performance.

Cardinals skipper on Joshua Báez

Joshua Báez launched home runs to left, right, and center, quite literally at Wrigley Field on Saturday. He scripted history in front of  39,834 spectators, including 30 people split between family members and friends. Báez had ample support in his debut, and he delivered.

And even when he didn’t homer in his last plate appearance, the ballpark cheered because Saturday’s entertainment was worth it all. So much so that Marmol, who gets consumed by bullpen decisions and every other aspect of a matchup during a game, had to pause his routine.

“He didn’t give us an option but to actually take a step back and just enjoy the heck out of what was going on there,” Marmol exclaimed.

Manager Oli Marmol was already excited to watch the 6’3″, 220-pound right fielder in the big leagues. And when Báez scripted MLB history, he was ecstatic.

“The second and third is just, holy c—,” Marmol said, per MLB.com.

In fact, during his 4th plate appearance, the whole Wrigley Field rose to its feet, ready for another dinger. Pitcher Colin Rea had to cup his hand to his ear just to listen to the PitchCom call over the noise.

In the end, Joshua lined out to left, but still, the crowd applauded.

“I did not know that they were standing up,” Báez shared with MLB.com. “I was just trying to take deep breaths and just enjoy the moment and just compete.”