Braden Montgomery shows he belongs with biggest hit of his life in White Sox' win

CLEVELAND — Braden Montgomery didn’t have a great rookie season at the plate. It started magically in June with a walk-off home run in his major-league debut to beat the Braves, the best team in baseball at the time. He had two doubles the next night in another White Sox victory over the Braves. The team’s No. 2 prospect and 21st-ranked prospect in baseball was on a path to stardom. But the rest of his season was mostly nondescript. Though he was good with the glove, he left a lot to be desired with the bat. He hit six home runs in 93 games, lacking the pop he showed at Texas A&M, where he hit 27 homers in 61 games in 2024. He finished the regular season with a paltry .662 OPS. Manager Will Venable kept putting him in the lineup, though, even into the postseason. Entering Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Guardians on Monday, he was hitless in his previous 10 at-bats. The question had to be asked: Why is he in the lineup? So a reporter worked up the nerve to ask Venable a question he probably wouldn’t like, and he asked it in the most ham-handed of ways: “Braden Montgomery is in the lineup every day. What makes you confident that he belongs in the lineup every day?” “Are you thinking he shouldn't be in the lineup?” Venable replied. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what I thought … I mean, what the reporter thought. His name has been removed to protect his family. “No, no, no,” the reporter said, backtracking as sweat began to pool on his forehead. “I just want to know what you think makes him so valuable for a rookie?” “Oh, gotcha. Braden is a special player.” Venable went on, talking about Montgomery being a valuable switch hitter, a really good defender, a great athlete, a “big piece of our lineup.” Seemingly speaking it into existence, Venable watched as Montgomery had the biggest hit of his life, a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth inning that helped give the Sox a 4-3 victory and a 2-0 lead in the series, which could end Wednesday at Rate Field. Facing left-handed reliever Erik Sobrowski, the switch-hitting Montgomery — who hit .129 right-handed against lefties in the regular season — lined a first-pitch fastball low and away down the line in right, landing it maybe a foot inside the line. Miguel Vargas and Randal Grichuk scored, and when Montgomery reached second base, he let out a yell that every Sox fan felt. “I can’t even describe the energy that was running through me in that moment,” Montgomery said. “To see the ball get down, and to know you’ve got two ducks on the pond that are right there, it’s exhilarating. It was special to touch the bag and look back into the dugout and see my guys. It’s a feeling like no other. You want to feel that feeling every night.” What is it that makes Venable so confident in Montgomery, despite what the numbers say? “He’s a guy that is not going to shy away from the moment,” he said. “As you're evaluating your best nine on a given day, it’s not just what happens at the plate. It’s defensive ability. It’s baserunning. Really everything.” Montgomery doesn’t take that confidence for granted. “It’s really special for me coming from a person like Will,” he said. “Getting to know Will and seeing the man that he is, I respect him so much. To have that confidence in me means the world. I feel like that makes winning ballclubs, when you create these bonds with people. I’d run through a wall for Will.” OK, so I was wrong … I mean, the reporter was wrong. Montgomery, who shows a maturity beyond his years, belongs in the lineup every day. Now the Sox come home, where they’ll be greeted by a raucous crowd that hasn’t seen them since Sept. 27, when they beat the Rockies in a meaningless regular-season finale. They had lost the night before, and the Guardians had won, clinching the Central title. That the Guardians lost the next day to make the final margin just one game was awfully nervy. But the Sox could end up having the last laugh with a series sweep, or just a series victory. It’s called the regular season for a reason, because it’s regular, it’s normal. What Montgomery and the Sox are doing in the postseason is anything but.