Colson Montgomery Sets MLB Single-Season Strikeout Record at 224

Colson Montgomery set a new Major League Baseball single-season strikeout record on Friday, September 25, when his 224th strikeout moved him past Mark Reynolds’ 17-year-old mark. The Chicago White Sox shortstop reached the unwanted milestone in the fifth inning of a 6-1 win over the Colorado Rockies at Rate Field.

Montgomery took a 3-2 four-seam fastball from right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano for a called third strike. The pitch was measured at 93.3 mph, and the strikeout left Montgomery alone at the top of a record list Reynolds had led since striking out 223 times for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009.

Montgomery’s record comes with power production

The number tells only part of Montgomery’s season. The 24-year-old entered the final weekend with 31 home runs and 87 RBIs, giving the White Sox substantial power even as his contact problems mounted. Through Friday he was batting .199 with a .692 OPS in 562 at-bats.

His September had been especially difficult. Montgomery was hitting .107 with 39 strikeouts during the month when he broke the record. He tied Reynolds at 223 strikeouts one day earlier against the Kansas City Royals, also passing Adam Dunn’s American League and White Sox record of 222 from 2012.

Montgomery has not tried to disguise the issue, but he has resisted allowing it to consume his approach. He has emphasized hunting pitches he can drive rather than rebuilding his swing during the final days of a season in which one swing has often changed games for Chicago.

White Sox keep the focus on winning

The historic strikeout came in a game the White Sox controlled. Chicago beat Colorado 6-1 for its 83rd victory, one day after clinching its first postseason berth since 2021. That context softened the impact of Montgomery’s individual record: the White Sox are preparing for October after consecutive 100-loss seasons in 2024 and 2025.

Chicago’s coaching staff has continued to back Montgomery’s combination of power and defense while working to identify why the strikeouts occur. The distinction matters. Chase outside the zone, misses on strikes and two-strike approach problems demand different corrections, and the club has avoided treating every strikeout as the same failure.

Montgomery’s total could still rise before the regular season ends. Whatever the final number, his 2026 will be remembered as an extreme season: elite home-run power from a young infielder, postseason baseball for a transformed White Sox club and now the highest strikeout total by any hitter in MLB history.