Colson Montgomery reaches 224 strikeouts, an MLB record that needs context

Colson Montgomery became the first major-league hitter to strike out 224 times in a season Friday. The White Sox shortstop took a called third strike against Colorado pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, according to ESPN's game report. MLB's official season record now lists 224 strikeouts for Montgomery, one beyond Mark Reynolds' 223 for Arizona in 2009.

This is an unwanted individual record, and it should not be dressed up as an achievement. It also does not describe Montgomery's entire season. The 24-year-old has 31 home runs and 87 RBIs in MLB's current regular-season totals. Chicago has reached the postseason after three consecutive seasons with at least 100 losses. He has supplied power to a team that made an extraordinary collective recovery while enduring a severe contact problem of his own.

Montgomery tied Reynolds on Thursday with his 223rd strikeout. Friday's called strike moved the mark from shared to his alone. That sequence matters: this is a newly broken MLB record, not merely a White Sox franchise high.

What the number says

A strikeout ends a plate appearance without putting a ball in play. There is no need to pretend 224 of them are harmless because a hitter also has power. MLB's September 12 reporting described Montgomery and the team's effort to keep the total from consuming his approach. His job now is to preserve the impact of his best swings while finding a way to finish more at-bats with contact or a walk.

The contrast is stark in the official line: 31 home runs, 54 walks and 224 strikeouts through 151 games. That is 224 strikeouts in 632 plate appearances, roughly 35.4 percent. It is a measure of the tradeoff in his 2026 offense, not a forecast of where his career must go.

Montgomery will be discussed in October because the White Sox made it there, not because he owns a record nobody seeks. The postseason offers a different, immediate question. Can the same bat that hit 31 regular-season home runs do damage against playoff pitching while giving fewer plate appearances away? Friday's number is historic. The answer to that question is still ahead.