Colson Montgomery made history for all the wrong reasons Friday night, breaking a 17-year-old record for strikeouts in a single season during his first full year in the majors.
The record was previously held by Mark Reynolds, who struck out 223 times in 2009.
Montgomery, the White Sox shortstop, struck out for the 224th time this season at home against Colorado, setting a new single-season mark.
The record-setting strikeout came in the fifth inning against Rockies right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano.
With a full count, Montgomery watched a 93-mph fastball down the middle of the plate go by.
Montgomery is batting .199/.285/.407 this season. Despite the modest averages, the 24-year-old has hit 31 home runs, driven in 87 runs, and posted a 1.9 WAR for the White Sox.
His impact has been more evident in the field, with Chicago director of hitting Ryan Fuller describing Montgomery’s year as “unbelievable.”
It’s possible he could be passed this weekend, though, with Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber sitting at 218 strikeouts with two games left against the Rays.
Montgomery tied the record Thursday night in Kansas City, but the team’s celebration in the locker room was focused on clinching its first playoff berth since 2021.
The South Siders became the first team in MLB history to reach the postseason after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.
It has been a frustrating month for Montgomery, who has hit .111 so far, with 38 strikeouts and eight walks.
“I was told this by someone really close, that I know, is they asked me: ‘Did Shaquille O’Neal care about his free-throw percentage? Probably not,’” Montgomery said.
“He’s just going out there and doing the things he knows he’s really good at and that’s dominating his craft. It’s what I’m trying to do. Try not to think about it at all.”
Even with the record, manager Will Venables still believes in his young infielder.
“In Colson’s case, he doesn’t like the strikeout, but I also don’t see him going up there just trying not to strike out, or the idea of a strikeout is consuming him or taking away from his approach and aggressiveness,” Venables said.
The White Sox finish the regular season with two more games against Colorado before the playoffs start.
They sit one game behind Cleveland in the AL Central and will either earn a bye as the No. 2 seed or be the No. 6 seed and face the AL West winner in the Wild Card round.
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