Joshua Baez’s biggest fans were celebrating his record-setting performance on Saturday from a thousand miles away.
The St. Louis Cardinals rookie had the greatest hitting debut in MLB history in an 8-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Baez hit the first pitch he saw from Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd into the center-field seats at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill.
The 23-year-old Dominican-American then hit home runs in his second and third at-bats, becoming the first player in history to homer thrice in his MLB debut (videos here).
Before the call-up to the big leagues, Baez flashed his immense power with the Memphis Redbirds. His Triple-A teammates, who were on the road during the contest, caught the performance from the locker room before their own game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C.
Joshua Baez’s Triple-A teammates watching him make history in his MLB debut.
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 15, 2026
Beautiful stuff pic.twitter.com/LuYnSpK4Rd
Baez hit 34 home runs for the Redbirds before getting called up by the Cardinals for Saturday’s contest. He clearly left a positive impact on his teammates off the field as well, given how ecstatic they were seeing one of their own making history in the majors.
The Redbirds lost to the Durham Bulls in a 4-1 affair. But if you count Baez’s 3 home runs and 5 RBIs for the Cardinals in the total tally, one could argue they won in the aggregate.
