CHICAGO -- Joshua Báez spent five years working toward his first Major League at-bat.
He needed one pitch to make it unforgettable. Then, somehow, he kept going.
Báez homered on the first pitch he saw in the Majors, homered again in his second at-bat and then stepped to the plate in the sixth inning and did something nobody in Major League history had ever done.
He homered again.
Three at-bats. Three home runs. One historic introduction.
Báez became the first player in MLB history to hit three home runs in his debut, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs while powering the Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Cubs on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
“It’s just unreal,” Báez said. “For me to not only get a hit, but hit three home runs is just crazy.”
Crazy might be underselling it.
Hours before Báez stepped into a Major League batter’s box for the first time, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was asked why the arrival of St. Louis’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline had him particularly excited.
Marmol pointed to the combination of Báez’s physical ability and the confidence and mentality that accompanies it.
“It doesn’t quietly whisper,” Marmol said. “It screams at you when you watch this kid for any length of time.”
By the end of Saturday afternoon, Báez had made enough noise for all of Wrigley Field to hear it.
His introduction came in the first inning.
With two outs and a runner aboard, Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd challenged Báez with a 93.4 mph fastball up in the zone. Báez attacked the first Major League pitch he had seen and launched it a Statcast-projected 449 feet to dead center field.
The ball left his bat at 108.6 mph. The Cardinals had a 3-0 lead. And Báez had a Major League home run before seeing a second pitch.
“I was pretty much calm,” Báez said. “Just being able to carry it to the game, I feel like that was the key thing for me.”
The swing was impressive enough. What happened afterward caught Marmol’s attention just as much.
As Báez rounded the bases and approached the Cardinals’ dugout, he looked toward his new teammates and flashed a grin.
“There’s a calmness and a smile to, ‘I’m here,’” Marmol said. “That was pretty cool to be a part of.”
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
One swing would have made for quite the debut. Báez was just getting started.
Facing Boyd again in the third, Báez worked a full count before getting a changeup low in the zone and ripping it 382 feet down the left-field line. The solo homer gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead and made Báez just the ninth player in MLB history to homer twice in his first regular-season game.
He also became just the second player since 1900 to homer in each of his first two career at-bats in one game, joining Bob Nieman on Sept. 14, 1951.
By that point, the Cardinals knew they were witnessing a remarkable debut. Then Báez turned remarkable into unprecedented.
In the sixth inning, Báez faced Boyd for a third time. He drove a pitch the opposite way, sending a 99.8 mph line drive toward right field.
For a moment, Báez wasn’t even sure it was leaving.
“I was just really glad that the ball went over the wall,” Báez said. “I had no idea. So I just started running, and then I seen that it went over and I was like, ‘This is insane.’”
It traveled 368 feet. And with it, Báez had officially gone where no Major Leaguer had before.
“The second and third is just, holy [crap],” Marmol said.
Báez became the first player in MLB history to homer three times in his debut.
Even the first swing carried its own place in Cardinals history. Báez became the first St. Louis position player to homer on the first Major League pitch he saw since Chris Richard on July 17, 2000.
By Báez’s fourth plate appearance in the eighth inning, there was no hiding from what was unfolding.
Wrigley Field rose to its feet.
Cubs pitcher Colin Rea cupped his hand to his ear attempting to hear the PitchCom call over the noise. Cardinals fans wanted four. Even the opposing crowd seemed captivated by the possibility.
Báez lined out to left field. The crowd applauded him anyway.
“I did not know that they were standing up,” Báez said. “I was just trying to take deep breaths and just enjoy the moment and just compete.”
Marmol noticed.
“It became must-watch TV,” Marmol said. “No matter what you were doing, you were going to stop to watch it. That in itself is pretty cool.”
Marmol is a manager who spends games consumed by matchups, bullpen decisions and whatever comes next, but Báez managed to briefly break his skipper’s routine.
Marmol said it is rare for him to stop during a game and simply appreciate what he is witnessing.
Saturday qualified.
“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 said.
The last time Marmol remembered doing that?
Watching Albert Pujols hit career home run No. 700.
Even Báez’s starting pitcher had to appreciate the show.
“I love when history gives me run support,” Michael McGreevy joked.
McGreevy spent portions of his start underneath the dugout trying to escape the humidity, watching Báez’s second and third homers on a monitor. When his own afternoon was finished, he approached Báez with about the only reaction that seemed appropriate.
“Dude, holy crap.”
“You’re enthusiastic, but because it’s history, you don’t really know what to say because it’s never been done before,” McGreevy said.
On the other side of history was Boyd, who surrendered all three of Báez’s home runs. The veteran left-hander knew about the power Báez displayed while leading Triple-A with 34 homers, but said that didn’t change how he approached the rookie.
“He’s a good player. There’s a reason why he’s called up,” Boyd said. “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.”
For all the unprecedented parts of Báez’s afternoon, the power itself wasn’t exactly a revelation.
The Cardinals have been watching it all year.
Báez arrived in Chicago after hitting .256 with 34 home runs, 90 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and a .901 OPS across 103 games at Triple-A Memphis. His 34 homers lead Triple-A and are tied for second most in the Minors.
“No one is ignorant enough to say that they haven’t been seeing what he’s been doing down there,” McGreevy said. “We’re shocked that three homers in three at-bats happened, but we know the power. We know the hit tool’s there.”
Getting that ability to the Major Leagues, however, required considerably more than power.
Báez always believed he would arrive.
At 18 years old, shortly after the Cardinals selected him in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, he visited Busch Stadium and confidently predicted he would reach the Majors within two years.
It took a little longer than that.
Five years brought adjustments, struggles, successes and more struggles. Báez had to learn how to handle all of them.
“It’s a roller coaster,” Báez said before Saturday’s game. “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.”
Marmol believes that path is part of what made Báez ready for Saturday.
He has watched prospects move methodically through Minor League systems, checking one developmental box after another before arriving in the Majors. Báez’s path wasn’t nearly that clean.
“I like that path way more than the checkboxes to get here,” Marmol said. “They get to experience a little bit of what it’s going to be like up here. That is the big leagues. You’re going to go through some real downs, and he has something to point back to as far as being able to get through it.”
There will still be adjustments.
Marmol said before the game that virtually every player experiences the cycle of reaching a new level, having the league adjust to them and then needing to counter. Báez experienced it when he reached Triple-A. The Major Leagues will eventually present the same challenge.
One historic afternoon doesn’t change that.
But it does offer a tantalizing glimpse of what Báez could add to a Cardinals lineup fighting to remain in the National League postseason race.
“Anytime you can lengthen the lineup, that’s the key to this game,” Marmol said. “Adding that type of power threat, it’s definitely an advantage. You get some of those guys ahead of him going the way we know they’re capable of, and it becomes pretty fun to watch.”
Saturday was certainly that.
Before his debut, Báez was asked how he planned to handle the nerves, the adjustment and everything that accompanied finally reaching the level he had spent five years chasing.
His answer was simple.
“Just play baseball.”
Then he did something nobody in the history of the sport had ever done.