Which of these two sluggers should lay claim to the Cardinals' "moment of the year"?

Saying Joshua Báez arrived in the major leagues in style would be a woeful understatement. The outfielder whom St. Louis Cardinals fans had been clamoring to see for months finally made his debut, and it was more wonderful than anyone could have foreseen, as he socked three home runs in his first three career plate appearances. Báez's feat could easily be considered the top moment of the season for Cardinals fans, but one other member of the team may have something to say about that.

During the All-Star break, Jordan Walker electrified Cardinal Nation with his thrilling victory in the annual Home Run Derby, an accomplishment that had fans buzzing for weeks. In what many expected to be a lost season for the Cardinals, there have now been two unforgettable occurrences that have drummed up more excitement than most expected. But if you had to pick one to be the true defining moment of 2026 for the Cardinals, which one would you go with? Let's break it down.

Does Joshua Báez or Jordan Walker deserve the top spot?

The case for Báez

Baseball has seen 23,752 players lace up for a major league game in its storied history. Until Aug. 15, 2026, not a single one of them had ever hit three home runs in his first three plate appearances. The odds of Báez accomplishing this were so minute that anyone who put $10 on it would now be a trillionaire.

In Walker's case, someone wins the Home Run Derby every year. Yes, he was one of the long shots among the eight participants, but there were surely plenty of people, especially Cardinals fans, who made a few bucks by putting some money down on Walker.

The Home Run Derby has no impact on the bigger picture of the season, and Walker didn't help the Cardinals in any way by winning it other than perhaps instilling pride in his teammates. Báez, however had a direct effect on a game's outcome. Without his five RBIs, the Cardinals would have succumbed to the Chicago Cubs by a score of 4-3.

Yes, the Chicago Cubs. The team whom Cardinals fans are born and raised to learn to despise. Báez didn't just lay a spanking on the Cubs; he walloped his way into the heart of everyone who pledges loyalty to the birds on the bat, and his blasts potentially struck fear into those wearing Cubbie blue.

Walker hasn't been the same player since the start of the second half. He still has only one home run since returning from the derby, and the loss of the pop in his bat is concerning for those who expected Walker to continue his assault on major league pitching. Báez, on the other hand, remains a blank slate. If he puts up respectable numbers for the rest of the season, he'll leave a far better taste in fans' mouths than Walker if the latter's power outage continues.

Next season, if Báez can replicate even a modicum of what he flashed in his first game with the Cardinals, St. Louis will have another Rookie of the Year candidate on their hands and have another shot at acquiring the cherished extra draft pick at the end of the first round. That extra draft capital, combined with Báez's rapid ascent, would provide President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom with even more toys to tinker with in his quest to return the Cardinals to their former glory.

The case for Walker

Although the Home Run Derby is meaningless, it still drew 5.3 million views — the lowest viewership total since 2003, but far more than those who tune into a random Cardinals game in mid-August. This event brought Walker into the limelight around the league and garnered him respectability among opposing fanbases.

Walker has had to overcome plenty of obstacles to achieve his first-half breakout. Cardinals fans are familiar with his one-time top prospect status and his siege on the lower levels only for him to struggle massively over the past two seasons and become the subject of criticism from fans and coaches. That's not to discredit what Báez has accomplished; he has also run the gamut of "hyped prospect, to write-off, to breakout." But unlike Walker, Báez endured those problems in the minor leagues, where fans' gazes weren't nearly as intense.

Walker didn't win the derby easily, either: He took on a tough challenge from Kyle Schwarber and had to undertake a huge comeback to claim victory. For fans such as me who didn't expect much from the event, it was shockingly entertaining — and that's before mentioning how Schwarber had the entire ballpark pulling for him, pushing Walker into the villain role and creating even more pressure than Walker would normally have been subjected to.

Following his derby exploits, Walker revitalized a fanbase that hadn't had much to cheer about over the past few seasons. Fans who remember the fiascos in 2023 when everything in the franchise came crashing down could only peek through their fingers at the wreckage and wonder when the embarrassment would subside. But if Walker finds his power stroke again, the Cardinals may have a stud around whom they could build a team.

The verdict

First, a reminder that this is just my opinion. By no means am I trying to speak for every Cardinals fan.

I think Walker's derby heroics have the edge.

Remember that this season wasn't about winning; it was about finding out what you have in your young players. A postseason spot isn't completely out of the question, but a championship appears highly unlikely. If this scenario were to occur in a year where the Cardinals were seriously competing, I would probably flip my stance, but in this instance, it's all about the symbolism.

Walker's performance in the derby signified that the Cardinals are close to reclaiming their lofty perch in both the standings and their reputation around the league. Even if Walker can't match his torrid first half, what he did on a national stage may be a taste of what the Cardinals as a whole can be when Bloom has finished sculpting the team.

I don't want to take anything away from Báez. No matter what he does from here, his debut was truly one of a kind, and if you're a big believer in Báez, it would be easy to point to this instance as symbolic in its own right. I am still not entirely bought into Báez the way I am with Walker, though, and I believe Walker will make a bigger splash for the team moving forward while Báez serves as a complementary piece.

In other words — JORDAN WALKER WINS IT!

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