Terrance Gore Stays Ready as the Mets’ Designated Runner

Along with the installation of a pitch clock, and the banning of the shift, Major League Baseball announced last month that pitchers would be limited to two pickoff attempts before they must deliver a ball to the plate — a setup that would give someone like Gore an easy greenlight to steal a base after drawing two throws. The bases will also increase in size, reducing the distance between them slightly while adding more surface area for a sliding player to grab in a close play. Even the pitch clock, a key component of the league’s effort to speed up the game, could allow base runners to time pitchers with more confidence.

These changes could lead teams to experiment with adding speed to their rosters.

But Gore scoffs at the idea that any fast guy — think Herb Washington, an All-American sprinter signed by the Oakland A’s in 1974 to middling success — can learn the ins and outs of base stealing overnight.

“I do a lot of homework,” he said. “You can’t just go get a track guy and tell him to run the bases and see what happens. He might be successful a couple times, but his percentage is not going to be good. You’ve got to know the game. You’ve got to know the pitches, the pitch count, who’s hitting, who’s playing first base.”

In Gore’s eyes, he’s not just a runner. He’s a baseball player, and he would love the opportunity to prove it again. He lit up at the mention of his 2019 season with the Royals, in which he saw some playing time as an outfielder and hit .275 with a .362 on-base percentage.

“Say those stats a little louder,” he said with a laugh.

But at this stage of his life, Gore has accepted his role as a specialist.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I’ve had a great career. I wouldn’t change anything that happened.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/sports/baseball/terrance-gore-mets.html