Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 17

Justin Turner Blasts Wrigley Fans Over 3-HR Ovation for Cardinals Rookie Joshua Baez

Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 17

Justin Turner Blasts Wrigley Fans Over 3-HR Ovation for Cardinals Rookie Joshua Baez

Q: How will Joshua Baez follow up a rookie debut that shattered MLB records and divided rival fans?

Joshua Báez’s most likely follow-up is not another record day, but a test of whether his elite power can hold up once pitchers adjust. The Cardinals promoted Báez because his Triple-A production demanded it: 34 home runs, 90 RBIs, 21 steals and a .901 OPS in 103 games at Memphis. His debut at Wrigley — three home runs in his first three major league at-bats, five RBIs, and the first such game in MLB history — confirmed the upside scouts have long seen in his plus raw power and arm strength. What comes next is more revealing. Báez entered the majors with scouting reports praising his power but warning about contact consistency and strikeouts. That means opponents will quickly change the plan, likely feeding him fewer challenge fastballs and more breaking balls and off-speed pitches out of the zone. His immediate follow-up already showed that adjustment beginning: after the three-homer debut, he went hitless the next day against the Cubs before driving in a run with a single in Cincinnati. The Cardinals do not need Báez to keep making history every night. They need him to prove he can make routine adjustments, control the strike zone and remain productive in meaningful late-season games as St. Louis chases a Wild Card spot. If he does that, his debut will look less like a one-day spectacle and more like the start of a middle-of-the-order career. The fan debate at Wrigley may linger, but Báez’s real answer will come in the batter’s box.

Q: Why did a former Cubs veteran condemn his own fans for witnessing unprecedented baseball history?

Former Cubs veteran Justin Turner criticized Wrigley Field fans because he believed they were showing too much generosity to a Cardinals player from a rival team. After Cardinals prospect Joshua Báez hit three home runs in his major league debut — the first player in MLB history to do that, and in his first three career at-bats — Cubs fans gave him a standing ovation. Turner argued that was hard to square with what happened last season, when Cardinals manager Oli Marmol intentionally walked Cubs slugger Michael Busch and denied him a chance to complete the cycle. Turner’s point was about rivalry and consistency. On X, he suggested Cubs fans should remember that Busch was not given a similar opportunity by St. Louis in a game late last year, even if that game had no effect on the standings. From his perspective, applauding a Cardinals player after that looked soft toward a historic rival. Most observers, however, saw the situations as different. Busch’s near-cycle involved a routine strategic decision by a manager in a low-stakes game. Báez’s performance was a rare and unprecedented achievement unfolding live in front of the crowd. That is why many fans and baseball figures viewed the ovation not as support for the Cardinals, but as respect for a singular baseball moment. So Turner condemned the fans because he viewed the applause as inconsistent with the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry, while many others saw it as a classy acknowledgment of history.

1 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 17

Justin Turner criticized Wrigley Field fans on X after they gave Cardinals rookie Joshua Baez a standing ovation for a three-home-run major league debut against the Cubs.
Baez made history Saturday, becoming the first MLB player to hit 3 homers in his debut — and in his first 3 career at-bats.
Turner tied the ovation to a 2025 grievance, noting St. Louis intentionally walked Cubs hitter Michael Busch late last season when Busch was a triple short of the cycle.
That earlier incident came in a game with no standings impact, while the ovation followed a rare milestone even as Chicago lost a weekend series to its rival Cardinals.