Terrance Gore, the former Kansas City Royals outfielder who died in February at 34, was honored by the team in a touching tribute at Kauffman Stadium on Monday.
With a sold-out crowd of 39,320 on hand for the Royals’ home opener, the club’s distinctive centerfield scoreboard flashed the image of Gore on the basepaths, where he spent much of his time in the majors.
Gore’s family was in attendance for the ensuing moment of silence, which gave way to a round of applause from the Royals faithful. His widow, Britney, and their two youngest children, Skylyn and Camden, then watched as the eldest child, Zane, tossed out the ceremonial first pitch to retired Royals star Alex Gordon.
With the pitch in hand, Royals fans erupted in applause once more before watching Kansas City pull out a 3-1 win over visiting Minnesota.
‘It’s such a tragic thing to lose a guy at 34 years old,’ an emotional Royals general manager J.J. Picollo told reporters Monday. ‘It’s the least we could do for his family. It’ll be fun to see his kids out there.
‘His son’s a baseball player. He was very involved with his youth team. So we had Zane out on the field [in Atlanta] running around. Our players do what they do — they’re special guys. They made that day.
Royals fans paid tribute to Terrance Gore on Monday, a little more than a month after his death. One fan joked that heaven’s stolen-base percentage is ‘off the charts’ with the speedster
Gore began his MLB career with the Kansas City Royals, who selected him in the 2011 draft
‘And hopefully it’s the same thing today, and our fans appreciate celebrating Terrance’s life.’
Gore died at 34 in February following what Britney described as complications following surgery.
The family lives in Panama City, Florida, where Gore was working as a speed and baseball trainer while coaching his son’s baseball team, per MLB.com.
The outfielder played eight years in the major leagues with multiple teams, earning a World Series ring with three different franchises: the Royals in 2015, the Dodgers in 2020 and the Braves in 2021.
He last played for the Mets in 2022 before being removed from the roster and electing free agency.
Gore (bottom) celebrates with teammates in the clubhouse after Game 4 of the 2014 ALCS
The Kansas City Royals observe a flyover prior to the opening day game against the Twins
Gore began his MLB career with Kansas City after being selected in the 20th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Gulf Coast State College.
Following seven years with the Royals, Gore went on to enjoy stints with the Chicago Cubs, Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and the Mets.
Known for his blazing speed, Gore retired in 2022 with a .216 batting average and 43 stolen bases in 112 MLB games.
In his retirement, Gore reportedly became the co-owner of a hitting facility in Panama City, Florida, where he ran day-to-day operations.
