Former major league outfielder and speedy playoff bench weapon Terrance Gore has died at the age of 34, the Kansas City Royals announced on Saturday.
Gore spent parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball. While he logged just 85 total plate appearances in those eight seasons with the Royals, Cubs, Dodgers, and Mets, his elite speed and base-running smarts made him a bench weapon in three different postseasons. For his career, Gore batted .216/.310/.270 with 43 stolen bases in 52 attempts and time spent at all three outfield positions.
In the playoffs, Gore played in 11 games, each time as a pinch-runner. While he batted just twice in postseason play, he also stole five bases in six attempts and scored three runs. One of those runs came in Game 2 of the 2014 World Series, a series that the Royals eventually lost to the Giants in seven games. The next year, Gore earned a World Series ring as a member of those same Royals, the team that originally drafted him with a 20th-round selection in 2011. Gore was also a member of the Dodgers in 2020 and, for a time, on their playoff roster, but he did not appear in a playoff game during Los Angeles’ run to the title in that COVID-abbreviated season. As well, Gore appeared in a playoff game for the Braves in 2021, when they went on to win the World Series.
A Georgia native, Gore attended college in Panama City, Florida. According to MLB.com, Gore is survived by his wife and three children, who live in Panama City. At the time of his passing, Gore was working as a baseball trainer and also coaching his son’s youth team.