NewzCHICAGO (AP) — Joshua Báez smashed the first pitch he saw in the majors about 450 feet, then flashed a grin to the St. Louis dugout as he began his home run trot. “There was a calmness and a smile, like, ‘I’m here,’” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
“It’s rare for me to pick my head up to enjoy parts of it. He didn’t exactly give us an option but to actually take a step back and enjoy the heck out of what was going on there.” There has never been a show quite like it. Báez became the first player to hit a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the majors, leading the Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
Called up from Triple-A Memphis before the game, Báez had 30 members of his family in attendance at Wrigley Field. The traveling party, which included his mother, Yris, gathered on the field for photos afterward in spite of rain. “It’s just unreal,” the 23-year-old Báez said.
“To not only get a hit, but three home runs? It’s crazy.” He did it with flair, too. The first came on the first pitch he saw from Matthew Boyd and landed an estimated 449 feet away in the bleachers in left-center.
The left fielder’s next at-bat ended with a solo shot down the left-field line and the third, on his ensuing at-bat, went the opposite way, giving him five RBIs. Major League Baseball said Báez was the first player in modern baseball history to hit three home runs in his debut. The league cannot say with certainty whether the feat happened before 1901 due to a lack of game logs.
“He hit three different pitches for home runs. He beat us for sure,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. Báez showed plenty of power in the minors this season.
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