Joshua Báez Homers 3 Times in Historic MLB Debut
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- Joshua Báez went 3-for-4 with three home runs and five RBI on Aug. 15, 2026, becoming only the third player in MLB history to homer in his first two at-bats — then tacked on a third — after leading the minors with 36 home runs at promotion
- Bumpus Jones (1892) remains the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his MLB debut, though he finished his two-year career with a 7.99 ERA across 41⅔ innings for the Reds and Giants
- J.R. Richard set the still-standing MLB debut strikeout record with 15 K's against the Giants in 1971, striking out Willie Mays three times, though a stroke at age 30 cut short what looked like a Hall of Fame trajectory
- Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 in his 2010 Nationals debut — the third-highest debut total — and later won 2019 World Series MVP despite needing Tommy John surgery months into his career
- Danny Cox (1983) is the only pitcher ever to throw 10 scoreless innings in his MLB debut, outdueling Hall of Famer Steve Carlton before Bruce Sutter gave up the winning run in the 11th
- Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin became the first teammates to homer in their MLB debuts in the same game in 2016, slugging back-to-back shots for the Yankees; Judge became an all-time great while Austin later played in Japan
Why it matters: Báez's debut performance puts him alongside a small list of players who announced themselves with historic first games, though the source itself shows debut heroics are no guarantee of career stardom: Bumpus Jones flamed out, Danny Cox became a footnote, and J.R. Richard's career was derailed by a stroke, while only Strasburg and Judge among the list leveraged debut hype into sustained greatness.
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