World Series Champion Dies at 34

Terrance Gore, one of baseball’s most unforgettable speed specialists and a player who carved out a major league career almost entirely on raw, game-changing quickness, has died. He was 34.

The Kansas City Royals announced Gore’s death on Friday, Feb. 6. In a social media post, his wife, Britney, said he passed away following complications from a routine surgery. Gore is survived by his wife and their three children.

Gore’s career was unlike almost any other in the modern era. At a time when power ruled the sport, he made his mark with legs that could flip a game in seconds. His speed alone kept him in the majors for parts of eight seasons and helped produce one of the most unusual accomplishments in baseball history.

In 2015, just his second year in the big leagues, Gore was a World Series champion with the Royals — despite not yet recording his first major league hit.

That first hit wouldn’t come until 2018, during his fifth season, when he singled up the middle for the Chicago Cubs off future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. By then, though, Gore had already proven how valuable he could be without swinging the bat.

Listed generously at 5 feet 7 and 160 pounds, Gore was clocked at 4.29 seconds in the 40-yard dash. The small-market Royals, always hunting for an edge, used him as a designated runner during their run to back-to-back American League pennants, a stretch that ended with their 2015 championship.

Once Gore reached base, chaos usually followed. He began his career a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts, finally getting caught for the first time by Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez in 2016. Even then, his reputation as a blur on the basepaths was firmly established.

By that point, Gore had become a cult hero in Kansas City. On a Royals team that somehow revived memories of the franchise’s speed-and-defense dominance from the 1980s, he fit right in. Alongside Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson, Gore helped the Royals topple bigger-budget teams and capture their first World Series title in 30 years.

Dyson famously coined the phrase “That’s what speed do,” but even he couldn’t quite match Gore. In his major league debut, Gore stole a base and scored the walk-off run.

“I wouldn’t say I’m cocky,” Gore told the Kansas City Star in 2014. “But I know I’m really fast. And it’s going to take a perfect throw.”

Later in his career, Gore became more than just a pinch-running weapon. During his second stint with the Royals in 2019, he hit .275 with 14 hits in 58 at-bats and stole 13 bases in 18 attempts.

Royals president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo remembered Gore as far more than a speedster.

“Terrance was an unforgettable part of our organization with a unique talent that catapulted him to some of the biggest moments in Royals history,” Picollo said in a statement. “While his speed and athleticism were what most people immediately noticed, those of us who had the opportunity to know him also remember his energy, his humility, and the impact he made in big moments on the game’s biggest stage.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Terrance’s wife, Britney, their three children, and all of his family and friends during this difficult time. This is a sad ending to an incredible story.”

Gore later spent time with the Dodgers, Braves, and Mets, earning one more taste of October baseball when he appeared in the 2021 National League Division Series for Atlanta. When the Braves went on to win the World Series that year, Gore still found a way to make the moment about someone else.

As Atlanta celebrated its Game 6 victory over the Houston Astros, Gore pulled out his phone and video-called pitcher Charlie Morton, who had broken his right fibula in Game 1 and was recovering at home from surgery. He wanted Morton to be part of the celebration.

That kind of gesture defined him.

Born in Macon, Georgia, and raised in the small town of Gray, Gore attended Gulf Coast State College in Florida before the Royals selected him in the 20th round of the 2011 draft. After retiring from baseball, he settled in Panama City, Florida, where he worked as a speed and baseball trainer while raising his family with Britney.