Joshua Baez didn’t waste any time making his mark for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Called up to the majors Saturday, the rookie stepped into Wrigley Field and turned his very first career at-bat into a piece of franchise history, launching the first pitch he saw for a home run against the Chicago Cubs. It was the kind of debut that grabs attention fast, and Baez made sure it kept going.
Facing Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, Baez attacked a 93.4 mph fastball and sent it 449 feet to center field. The two-run shot left his bat at 108.6 mph and pushed St. Louis ahead 3-0 in the first inning.
The historical significance came quickly, too. MLB.com’s Sarah Langs noted on X, formerly Twitter, that Baez became the 11th player in Cardinals history to homer in his first career at-bat, and the first Cardinals player to homer on the first pitch of his first career at-bat since Adam Wainwright on May 24, 2006.
Baez then doubled down in his second major league at-bat, going deep again to become the first Cardinals player to hit two home runs in his major league debut. By the end of the afternoon, he had already carved out a debut no one in franchise history had matched.
The power display wasn’t exactly a surprise given what Baez had done at Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals’ right fielder arrived in the majors after hitting .256 with 34 home runs, 90 RBIs and a .901 OPS in 103 games for the Redbirds.
His 34 homers led Triple-A when St. Louis brought him up, a clear sign of why the organization viewed him as one of its most dangerous young bats.
One swing put him in the same conversation as Wainwright, and two swings put him in a category all his own. For the Cardinals, Saturday was more than a memorable introduction - it was a first look at a 23-year-old outfielder whose power translated immediately to the big leagues.
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