Joshua Báez put a crooked number in Triple-A Memphis' box score Tuesday, but his four-homer night carried much more weight off the diamond.
MLB's No. 65 prospect tallied a career high in roundtrippers en route to a 12-5 victory over Nashville at AutoZone Park. Báez just happened to do that in his best professional game on the three-year anniversary of his father's passing.
"I was just feeling him the whole time," Báez said. "I think that he guided me today to be able to do that."
Báez’s father, Jose Manuel, played baseball and softball until he was around 35 years old. He always gave his son tips on how to play the game, and those were both apparent and prevalent during Báez's 4-for-5 night with a career-high seven RBIs.
"Today was just really emotional," the Cardinals' No. 3 prospect said. "I was just trying to push through, and it's just insane I was able to hit four home runs in one night."
"It's very emotional," Báez's mother, Yris, added via her son's translation. "I knew he was here with him from the sky down. He was able to give him the strength. I could feel it through the whole night. There were different vibes today. I'm super happy and proud of him."
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In the first inning, Báez connected a three-run homer to left field on a slider by Brett Wichrowski (Brewers) at 108.2 mph off the bat. In his next trip to the plate, the 22-year-old traded in exit velocity for more distance, swatting a 408-foot roundtripper to center off a fastball thrown by the right-hander 3 inches above the strike zone.
Báez added a solo shot to his ledger in the fifth off a hanging slider by righty Kaleb Bowman. After grounding out in his penultimate at-bat of the night in the sixth, the 22-year-old outfielder calmed his emotions and leaned back into the fun of the game. He launched his fourth and final homer of the contest off righty Junior Fernández behind a 49-degree launch angle.
"He hit that one to the stars," Memphis broadcaster Alex Coil said. "He hit that one to his dad."
"It's not about me at all," he added, "but hinting at some supernatural presence, hitting the ball past the moon and Mars, the meteoric rise, that home run, that swing and how he watched it off the bat, all of it, it was really cool to see."
Each time Báez rounded second base on this occasion, he pointed to the sky with the number of homers he had hit.
"He has a little extra jump today," Coil said. "He's always been a guy with loud, massive sound. Luken Baker hit a million homers here in Memphis, and I love Luken to death. … But Joshua Báez has a different sound when it comes off his bat."
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Báez totaled 1,510 feet of home runs Tuesday. He soaked in the night, knowing that such moments don't happen often. After praying with his mother in remembrance of his father, Báez prepared to reset for a clean slate Wednesday and his continued pursuit of reaching the Majors.
"I'm in Memphis," he said. "I'd rather be nowhere else right now, because the team needs me. We're in a playoff push and that's exactly what I'm trying to do."
Báez has surpassed his previous career high of 20 homers from last season, having reached 23 already. He also became the 14th Minor Leaguer since 2005 to belt four long balls in one game and the first in Redbirds history.
Báez -- now slashing .282/.345/.631 through 62 contests -- admitted thoughts of a promotion have creeped into his mind, but he's remaining grounded. Coil, who joined the Redbirds in 2022, has seen many jumps to the big leagues, and he's not expecting Báez to be around Memphis much longer.
"That would be the biggest gift that he could give to his family," Coil said, "but also in memory of his father."