Colson Montgomery joins an elite company of White Sox greats as a rookie

Colson Montgomery is on a home run barrage that only superstars and Hall of Famers have had in a White Sox uniform.

Montgomery's 18th home run against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night put him in the same company as Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and Albert Belle.

They are the only other former White Sox players to crush 18+ home runs in a 37-game span, according to a post from the team on social media.

Montgomery is joining Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and Albert Belle

Colson joining the ranks of Thomas, Thome, and Belle might feel like a random piece of trivia that can easily be thrown away, but I think it speaks to two things going on with Montgomery's impressive start.

For starters, Colson is doing things that only the true greats have done. Then there's the fact that he is doing this as a rookie.

Colson Montgomery has barely played in 50 big league games and he is already contending to be the team's home run leader. Only 68 players in White Sox history have hit 20 or more home runs in a single season (including Lenyn Sosa in 2025), and Montgomery has a chance to do so while not hitting a single long ball before July 22.

Thome had just three home runs during his first 67 career games when he broke into the league with Cleveland back in the early 1990s. Belle, who also started his career in Cleveland, had seven over his first 62 games.

To be fair, both Thome and Belle debuted with the cavernous Cleveland Municipal Stadium as their home ballpark, but Belle did manage to have a double-digit home run season there before the team upgraded to Jacobs Field (now known as Progressive Field).

Adding some more context for how amazing Montgomery's run has been, the 18 home runs he has hit over his first 53 games (previously 51) are the most ever by a rookie shortstop during that span.

This is no ordinary run

Frank Thomas is arguably the greatest player in White Sox franchise history. Belle and Thome are undoubtedly the two biggest star acquisitions in franchise history, and here's Colson Montgomery in the same breath as these legends as a rookie.

Montgomery is showing he is capable of making the same kind of impact as all three did when they wore a White Sox uniform.

Colson has almost tripled Thomas' home run production through his first 50 games. Thomas hit just seven home runs during his first 60 games back in 1990 then hit 32 during his first full season, 1991.

Imagine the impact Montgomery will have in 2026 if he takes another big step forward in his power numbers during his first full season like Thomas.

Montgomery still has some hurdles to clear before he reaches the star status of Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, or Albert Belle, but Sox fans have got to like the start he is on. He may just get there someday.