CHICAGO (AP) — When Braden Montgomery arrived at Rate Field on Wednesday, the excitement from his major league debut the previous evening showed no signs of diminishing.
Montgomery finished with two hits in five at-bats, culminating in a game-winning two-run home run during the 10th inning that secured a 6-5 victory for the Chicago White Sox over the Atlanta Braves. The achievement placed him among just five players in major league history to connect on a walk-off homer during their debut, joining Billy Parker (1971), Josh Bard (2002), Miguel Cabrera (2015) and Carlos Pérez (2023).
Hours after his 343-foot opposite-field blast sailed over the left field wall, Montgomery remained energized by the experience.
“I don’t know if I would be considered calmed down at this point,” Montgomery said. “Just been enjoying it, sharing it with my family.”
White Sox manager Will Venable expressed confidence that the 23-year-old won’t let the spectacular debut affect his approach moving forward.
“We haven’t had anybody with a debut like that, but I think he’s as grounded as they come,” Venable said. “This is a guy that has really high expectations of himself. I’m sure he envisioned himself doing this, what he did last night. To be honest, his idea of what he can do in this league is as high as anybody else’s. It was exactly what he expected.”
Montgomery dedicated his second day in the majors to answering the flood of congratulatory messages — “The number shrinks and grows as I answer them, but more come in,” Montgomery said — and celebrating with his parents and relatives, who occupied seats behind home plate Wednesday evening.
His mother, Gretchen Montgomery Willock, shared footage of the family’s jubilant reaction from the stands that became a social media sensation. Wednesday brought another post from her: “Let me tell you about a dream I had last night.”
“It’s not really something you can imagine,” Montgomery said. “You just kind of go into it with your expectations and do whatever the game brings.”
Considered among the White Sox organization’s premier prospects, Montgomery came to Chicago from the Red Sox through the December 2024 deal that moved Garrett Crochet to Boston. He maintained a .315 batting average with Triple-A Charlotte before his call-up. His debut made him the 12th White Sox rookie to appear this season, representing the second-highest rookie count before the All-Star break since the 1944 Cincinnati Reds featured 13, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
The wave of young talent has propelled the White Sox to a 29-18 record since April 17, trailing only the New York Yankees (30-17), even while dealing with injuries to players including Munetaka Murakami and Everson Pereira. Since Murakami, the Japanese rookie who paces the team with 20 home runs, suffered a right hamstring injury on May 29, the White Sox have posted a 5-4 record.
Colson Montgomery became the latest addition to the injury list Tuesday. Dealing with back soreness, he’s considered day-to-day and missed Wednesday’s lineup. The second-year shortstop, who has appeared in 135 MLB contests, believes his younger colleagues are drawing energy from one another to maintain team performance.
“You get up here, and it’s like, these are my boys, my teammates, this is nothing new,” Colson Montgomery said. “That’s why a lot of our young rookie guys are coming up here and they’re thriving because they’re just being themselves and they know they can be themselves. … We have a lot of guys in the minor leagues who are coming up and they’re ready to show their impact.”
