There’s quite literally no more impressive start to a big league career than what Joshua Baez just had Saturday afternoon. Not only did his St. Louis Cardinals earn an 8-4 win over the rival Chicago Cubs, but Baez also became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in each of his first three at bats at the big league level.
Called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, Baez crushed the first pitch he saw into Wrigley Field bleachers. That was enough to get his teammates fired up about his Cardinals debut. But then the 23 year old outfielder followed that up with another two blasts to cap the day off.
When all was said and done, the uber talented rookie drove in 5 runs, and scored 3 times himself for what will go down as possibly the most impressive Major League debut of all time.
“It’s unreal, I really can’t put it into words… it’s a dream come true,” Baez told reporters after the game. “To be honest I was just trying to stay calm and embrace it. The only thing [I was thinking] was to have fun… I had no idea that I was going to be able to hit 3 home runs in one game. It’s just surreal right now.”
Eight players had previously hit two home runs in the Major League debuts, with the most recent being Cleveland’s Chase DeLauter who clubbed two in March this season. But Baez stands alone as the only player to blast 3 round trippers in his first taste of big league action.
Matthew Boyd gave up all three home runs to the rookie, with a 449 foot moonshot being the 3rd longest home run in a debut since distances began being tracked back in 2006. It’s the second time this season Baez has had at least 3 home runs in a single game.
Back in June, the Boston native registered a 4 home run game at Triple-A, prompting many to believe that he was on the cusp of a call up. But the Cardinals, who feature quite a bit of depth in the outfield, remained patient, opting not to force anything with their 4th ranked prospect.
Blaze Jordan and Alec Burlson would add longballs of their own for St. Louis, as the Cardinals kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a victory. The club now moves back to the right side of the.500, sitting at 62-61 which puts them 3 games back of the final wildcard spot down the homestretch of the schedule.
St. Louis will need to leapfrog Miami, Philadelphia, and Arizona if they hope to squeeze into the National League’s final playoff spot, but have been playing some decent ball of late to keep their chances afloat. The team’s next stretch of games are some of the most important ones they’ll play as they’ll wrap up their series vs. Chicago on Sunday, before travelling to Cincinnati (5 games back of the final wildcard spot) for a 5 game series, followed by Philadelphia for a 3 game set.
If they’re able to string together some wins over the next 9 games, they’ll be able to close the gap on the Phillies while simultaneously putting some extra distance between themselves and the Reds. And if the current minor league leader in home runs stays hot like he was Saturday, it could be just the boost the Cardinals offence needs for a late season push.
Photo: Terren in Virginia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.