Joshua Báez Hits Three Home Runs in First Three At-Bats of MLB Debut — a First in Baseball History
Joshua Báez swung at the first pitch he ever saw in the major leagues and sent it into the Wrigley Field bleachers. Then he did it again. And then a third time.
Báez, a 23-year-old left fielder called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, became the first player in major-league history to hit three home runs in his first three career at-bats on August 15, 2026. He drove in five runs and powered the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (The Guardian).
No player in the 150-plus years of major-league baseball had ever homered in each of his first three plate appearances. Báez is also the first Cardinals player to homer in his first career plate appearance since Lane Thomas in June 2019.
The first one came in the opening inning — a two-run shot into the left-center bleachers off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. In the fourth, Báez led off, worked the count full, and lined a home run down the left-field line to give St. Louis a 4-3 lead. In the sixth, he went the other way, driving a two-run homer to right field. All three came off Boyd. Combined, the home runs traveled 1,199 feet (Yahoo Sports).
Báez arrived in the majors with credentials. In 103 games at Triple-A this season, he batted .256 with 34 home runs, 90 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, and a .901 OPS — a number that bundles a hitter's on-base and slugging percentages into one figure, where .900 marks an elite season (MLB.com). He was ranked the No. 3 prospect in the Cardinals organization and No. 56 in Baseball America's top 100 (Lufkin Daily News).
Boyd took the loss, falling to 8-2 on the season. He allowed seven runs on five hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings, striking out two. Blaze Jordan's solo home run ended Boyd's afternoon. Alec Burleson added another solo shot off reliever Colin Rea in the eighth.
On the other side, Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy (5-9) earned his first win since July 8. He allowed three runs — all unearned, meaning they scored due to a defensive error rather than his pitching — on five hits and two walks over six innings, striking out six. Michael Conforto hit a three-run home run for the Cubs to account for their only scoring.
What makes this stand out is the sheer improbability. Thousands of players have taken their first major-league at-bat. Not one had ever homered in the first three. Báez did it on the road, at one of the sport's most storied parks, on a day that began in Memphis and ended in a place in the record book no one else occupies.
