Remembering Terrance Gore

I was absolutely gutted to learn on Saturday morning of the passing of Terrance Gore. He was just 34 years old.

Reports say he died following what was to be a routine surgical procedure. He leaves behind a wife, Brittney, and two children, Zane and Skylyn.

I loved Terrance Gore for the reasons we all loved Terrance Gore: He was the ultimate disruptor. In a baseball scene where we drool over five tool talents like a Bobby Witt Jr., Gore had just a single, standout tool: Speed. But what a tool that was. Sometimes, one is amole enough.

That speed earned him three World Series rings with three different teams. The first one, obviously, was with the Royals. He broke in with the club a year prior, making his major league debut on September 2, 2014. He entered the game as a pinch runner for Mike Moustakas in the eighth inning of a 1-1 game against the Texas Rangers. Alas, he did not steal a base, nor did he score a run. He was erased on a fielder’s choice. His first steal and first run both came the next day when he pinch ran for Billy Butler in the seventh inning following a double. Gore swiped third and advanced home on a throwing error. And that was the quintessential Terrance Gore moment. A time where his speed bought his team a stolen base and forced the defense into making a mistake, costing them another.

In that 2014 season, Gore appeared in 11 games. He had two plate appearances. He reached base via a hit by pitch, so he had just one official at bat. Yet he stole five bases and scored five times. He pinch ran for Butler in the September 26 game against the White Sox and stole a base. That was the game where the Royals clinched their first postseason berth in 29 years. In the Wild Card Game, Gore pinch ran for Butler (do you sense a theme here in 2014?) and yes, he stole third.

That steal was one of seven that night by the Royals. When Gore entered the game in the eighth inning, the Royals were down 7-5. They rallied in that eighth inning and when Gore entered the game, he was the potential tying run. He stole second and went to third on a wild pitch from Luke Gregerson that scored Alex Gordon and cut the Oakland lead to just a single run.

To talk (or write) about the exploits of Gore…well they just seem kind of pedestrian. A pinch running appearance here. A stolen base there. It’s just impossible to describe the buzz that emanated from the stands and the dugout when Gore entered the game. And the sense of dread coming from the opposition. Everyone on the diamond knew exactly what Gore was going to do. And they could not stop him. Everyone in the stadium who bought a ticket likewise knew what Gore was going to do. They were giddy in anticipation. That wild pitch in the Wild Card Game? That was part Gore. He put that kind of pressure on the opposition.

I wrote earlier that he was the ultimate disruptor. I just don’t know if I can adequately describe what that meant. When Gore came into the game as a pinch runner, it was usually in a key situation where his run meant something. His speed and the threat he created meant the opposing pitcher and catcher were immediately knocked off their game. Balks. Wild pitches. Errors. Any mistake was in play just by his presence. It was just kind of hopeless for the opposition because, as Gore would say, if they got him out it was because he made a mistake. Not because they were good enough to catch him. They weren’t. Nobody was.

In Game Four of the ALDS against the Houston Astros, the Royals were trailing two games to one in the series and were losing 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning. When Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch with one out, Gore was summoned to do his thing. He stole second. With two outs, he took off for third. He beat the throw and the tag and seemingly had secured the bag. Yet the Astros challenged and the replay officials adjudged that Gore had lost connection with the base when he popped up from his slide.

A horseshit call in a supremely important situation. How in the world could Gore be out? Yeah, popping off the bag a fraction of an inch while an infielder held his glove on him was about the only way to nab him. Gore could outrun everyone but the replay man.

Gore was so fast, yet he always seemed to slide at the last possible moment. Feet first. How his momentum didn’t shatter an ankle when he connected with the bag or how he didn’t just continue to slide past the base if he was to the left or right, I have no idea. But that was kind of Gore’s entire career. It shouldn’t have worked. Yet it did. Spectacularly so.

The pennant winning Royals of 2014 and 2015 were special because they were the sum of their parts. Those teams had stars, but I wouldn’t call any of them superstars. The only potential Hall of Famer on the roster was Salvy. Instead, those were teams defined by a selflessness, a willingness among nearly every player on that roster to play a particular role. It’s easy to fall for the undersized guy who finds his way to the top of his profession by being so damn good at one thing. It was easy to fall for Terrance Gore.

For a team that brought so much joy to this city, there have also been moments of sorrow. Shortly after I learned of the passing of Gore, my thoughts turned to Yordano Ventura who we lost nine years ago. Sports is meant to be fleeting. The prime part of one’s career can only last so long. Life should be longer. Losing Ace in that accident and now Gore…I don’t know…It hurts.

I always kind of admired Terrance Gore. I admired him for how he embraced his role as the designated speed demon. I admired him for how he carried himself on and off the field. I admired him for how, once the game no longer had use for his legs, he wasn’t bitter or angry. He just shifted gears.

Gore’s Baseball Reference page is delightful. Even though he debuted in 2014, he still had rookie status until some point in the 2017 season. In his first stint with the Royals—from 2014 to 2017—he appeared in 49 games. In 38 of those games, he entered as a pinch runner. He had 14 plate appearances in that time. He did not collect his first major league hit until 2018 when he was with the Cubs. His first, and only, RBI came in 2019 in his second tour of duty with the Royals.

I’m not certain there has been another player like Terrance Gore. Sure, there have been speed merchants and pinch running specialists and whatnot, but I cannot think of anyone who parlayed his speed into a career that covered parts of eight big league seasons. He was something of a baseball unicorn. We were fortunate to have witnessed it.

I pass my condolences on to his family, friends, teammates and those of us who were lucky enough to watch him burn up the bases, ninety feet at a time.