Kansas City Royals finally giving Terrance Gore playing time

During the fun years in 2014 and 2015, Kansas City Royals fans would only see Terrance Gore in a game if he were pinch running for someone. In 2019, Gore is finally getting a chance to swing the bat and play the field.

I used to have an inside joke with my dad and brother regarding Terrance Gore. Anytime the Kansas City Royals needed four runs to win, I’d say, “Time for Gore to hit a walk-off grand slam.” We’d all laugh because we knew it’d never happen.

While it’s still unlikely that Gore ever accomplishes that feat, at least the opportunity could prevent itself now!

The Royals, who are 8-17 after an ugly road trip to New York and Tampa Bay, are finally giving Terrance Gore an opportunity to show what he can do with the bat and in the field.

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To this point, Gore is slashing .438/.471/.750 with one double, one triple, one RBI, and four stolen bases. It’s a small sample size, of course, as the speedster has had just 16 at bats and only played in 11 games to this point (most of them as a pinch runner).

For the first four years of his career, Gore batted .000 in 11 at bats. Once the stakes weren’t as high and the need for a true base stealing threat wasn’t as important, the Royals were able to part ways with Gore and not feel like they were missing out on much.

Gore spent 2018 with the Cubs and recorded his first ever Major League hit there. The Royals made it a point to bring him back this year and are rewarding him for his past heroics by getting him into the lineup and letting him see some pitches.

Does this mean anything moving forward? Probably not, but you never know. If Gore continues to swing the bat decently (he won’t keep up his .438 batting average, that’s for sure), maybe there could be more of a role for him in the future.

The Royals are in the last year of Alex Gordon‘s contract, which means left field will be open in 2020. Billy Hamilton is a free agent in 2021 and that will open things up in center field. Right field has always been a mess and with Whit Merrifield‘s previous expertise at second base, that position could open up too.

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The point being – The Royals could soon need more outfielders to fill these spots and Gore would be an easy candidate to keep around. Before he was merely a pinch runner who would only have an at bat if the Royals were out of options.

Now, however, Terrance Gore has proven he can hit the baseball (at least in a small sample size) and that could prove important in the coming years.

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