Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez hits three homers in debut, a first in modern MLB

Joshua Báez hit a home run in each of his first three major-league at-bats on Saturday, propelling the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 23-year-old, called up from Triple-A Memphis that day, launched his first pitch—a 449-foot shot—into left-center, followed by a solo homer down the left-field line and a third blast that drove in five runs.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said, "> There was a calmness and a smile, like, ‘I’m here.’ It’s rare for me to pick my head up to enjoy parts of it. He didn’t exactly give us an option but to actually take a step back and enjoy the heck out of what was going on there."

Cubs manager Craig Counsell added, "> He hit three different pitches for home runs. He had a great game. He beat us for sure."

Major League Baseball noted that Báez is the first player in the modern era to achieve the feat, though records before 1901 are incomplete. He joins a short list of Cardinals who have homered in their first career at-bat and on the first pitch, and he was leading Triple-A with 34 home runs before his promotion.