White Sox prospect Braden Montgomery confident he'll find Fame

GLENDALE, Ariz. — White Sox outfield prospect Braden Montgomery wasn’t trying to come off as cocky, but his confidence is obviously through the roof.

When he was asked Sunday by the Sun-Times whether his ultimate goal is to make the major-league roster this spring, Montgomery responded with this mind-bending answer:

‘‘My overall goal is to make the Hall of Fame,’’ Montgomery said matter-of-factly after he homered and tripled against the Cubs in his first taste of Chicago’s baseball rivalry. ‘‘I’ll take it a game at a time, and we’ll see what happens at the end of it.’’

Oh, really?

‘‘That’s awesome to hear,’’ Sox manager Will Venable said when he was told Monday about Montgomery’s comment. ‘‘He’s one of those guys. If that’s what he thinks and that’s what he’s working for, you just want to support him so he can do that.’’

Montgomery was informed that Tony Gwynn’s goal from the beginning of his major-league career with the Padres in 1982 was to reach 3,000 hits, one hit at a time. By his retirement in 2001, he had 3,141 hits and a .338 batting average, the highest since Ted Williams retired in 1960 with a .344 average. That led to Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

‘‘See what happens when you’re goal-oriented?’’ Montgomery said when he was told about Gwynn. ‘‘You take it a pitch at a time, a second at a time.’’

Montgomery hasn’t played a game in the majors yet and is ticketed to start the regular season in the minors. But he said being elected to Cooperstown always has been a dream of his since growing up as a kid in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s 22 now but will turn 23 on April 16. A first-round pick (No. 12 overall) by the Red Sox in the 2024 draft, Montgomery was a key acquisition for the Sox in the Garrett Crochet trade.

‘‘Ever since I watched Derek Jeter play, I’ve wanted to be in the big leagues,’’ Montgomery said about the former Yankees star, who’s also a Hall of Famer. ‘‘I’d say about 10 or 11 years old I knew I wanted to be the best playing baseball. Obviously, that comes with eventually donning a gold jacket. Obviously, it’s not even Day 1 of my big-league career yet. I take it day by day. If I do that, I think the results will be something I can live with.’’

His performance in the Sox’ 5-1 victory Sunday against the Cubs was obviously something he could live with. He went 2-for-3 with the homer and the triple to raise his Cactus League batting average to .357 and his OPS to a gaudy 1.214.

Montgomery’s homer with two outs in the second inning came against left-hander Shota Imanaga, one of three long balls Imanaga allowed in his 2 2/3-inning stint.

‘‘That was super-cool, being able to see these guys on the diamond you’ve seen on TV,’’ Montgomery said. ‘‘To further compartmentalize it, I’m part of that now. To be able to share the field with him is really cool. That’s why I put in the work every day and want to continue to share the field with them by getting results.’’

His triple to right field against left-hander Luke Little to lead off the sixth soared over the head of veteran outfielder Michael Conforto, who is in Cubs camp as a non-roster invitee.

Did Montgomery hit the triple better than he did the homer?

‘‘I don’t know,’’ he said. ‘‘I guess we’ll find out when we get those hitting reports. But those triples always feel better. You get to go off to the races. It’s all eyes on you, and you get to see what you can do.’’

It’s no wonder Montgomery had a perpetual smile on his face. It seems as though he’s having a great time.

‘‘I try to be the same way every day because this truly is a blessing,’’ he said. ‘‘Playing baseball and being able to see all these fans? It’s just a beautiful thing.’’