Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery tied the MLB single-season strikeout record on Thursday, Sept. 24, whiffing for the 223rd time this season to equal Mark Reynolds' mark set in 2009.
Montgomery struck out in his first at-bat of the game then flew out twice to avoid breaking the record in the White Sox's postseason clincher
, but there are three games remaining with Chicago hosting the Colorado Rockies for the final weekend.The Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber has also had his eye on the dubious record, and entered Thursday's game on 218 strikeouts. Both players had 216 through Sunday but Montgomery struck out three times on Tuesday and three again on Wednesday in Kansas City to pull ahead in the "race."
Montgomery is hitting .200
in 150 games with 31 home runs and 87 RBIs this season, his second year in the majors.
Others have come close to the 223 mark in recent years and the top 15 seasons have all occurred since 2009. The Washington Nationals' James Wood came close in 2025, finishing with 221 strikeouts.
Most strikeouts in a season
- 1. Mark Reynolds (2009) – 223 SO
- – Colson Montgomery (2026) – 223 SO
- 3. Adam Dunn (2012) – 222 SO
- 4. James Wood (2025) – 221 SO
- 5. Chris Davis (2016) – 219 SO
- 6. Elly De La Cruz (2024) – 218 SO
- – Kyle Schwarber (2026) – 218 SO
- 8. Yoán Moncada (2018) – 217 SO
- 9. Kyle Schwarber (2023) – 215 SO
- 10. Eugenio Suárez (2023) – 214 SO
- 11. Joey Gallo (2021) – 213 SO
- 12. Chris Carter (2013) – 212 SO
- 13. Teoscar Hernández (2023) – 211 SO
- – Mark Reynolds (2010) – 211 SO
- – Giancarlo Stanton (2018) – 211 SO
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago White Sox shortstop ties infamous MLB record













