‘I’m trying to catch Tom Brady’: How Terrance Gore’s unusual career got him three rings … and counting
IN HIS EIGHT seasons in the big leagues, New York Mets outfielder Terrance Gore has never hit a home run. He has just one career RBI. But he does lead baseball in one very important category: World Series rings.
With three, Gore is tied with Madison Bumgarner for the most rings among active players in the majors, and has more than the entire Mets clubhouse combined. With his team among the National League favorites heading into the 2022 postseason, the journeyman pinch-running specialist is looking to add to his collection — with a lofty goal in mind.
“I’m trying to catch Tom Brady,” Gore says. “I like my odds.”
Brady, of course, owns seven rings as a future Hall of Fame quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Gore — a 31-year-old speedster known only to the most die-hard baseball fans — finds himself nearly halfway there.
“I wish I had that many World Series rings,” All-Star Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor says. “I’m a little envious.”
There’s a catch: Gore has never actually played in a World Series game. Since the Kansas City Royals drafted him in the 20th round in 2011, Gore has put together one of the most unique careers in sports history, a playoff base stealer for hire, often added to rosters in late September or October as one of the game’s fastest runners, deployed in the late innings of close games. He’s been a key contributor along the way, but has yet to appear in the Fall Classic.
In June, Gore joined the Mets, his fourth team. In eight games, Gore does not have a hit in three at-bats, but has stolen three bases and has not been caught once. The Mets hope, come October, that Gore can help the team create runs on the basepaths while providing some of the luck he’s brought the past two seasons to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, plus the Royals in 2015, all of whom won the World Series with Gore on their playoff rosters.
“Everyone knows when I go out there what I’m doing,” Gore says. “It’s like cat and mouse. Here we go. There’s no hiding.”
BEFORE GORE BECAME an October good luck charm, he almost quit baseball.
In 2014, Gore was frustrated with his progress. As a kid, Gore had envisioned a career like Ichiro Suzuki’s or Juan Pierre’s. But in his fourth year in the Royals organization, he wasn’t making much of a mark as an everyday player at High-A Wilmington, hitting .218/.284/.258 with no home runs and 36 stolen bases in 89 games. As he struggled in professional baseball, his ambitions shrunk, and he found himself dreaming not of MLB success, but of simply making a living, in the minors.
With a child on the way, though, Gore also considered hanging up his spikes altogether.
“I didn’t have a plan,” Gore says. “I knew I needed to do whatever it took to provide for the family.”
Gore didn’t see a path to the big leagues. He wasn’t developing as an all-around player and as his teammates got younger and younger, it felt like his window was closing. Gore routinely talked to his agent, Jay Witasik, who had pitched 12 years in the major leagues, about leaving the sport.
As he wavered, Gore grabbed dinner with former Royals slugger Mike Sweeney, who was working with the team as a special assistant. Sweeney pushed back on Gore’s plans to leave baseball, imploring Gore to stick with it for another year — an opportunity might be coming soon.
That opportunity came a few months later in early August when Gore got the call to join the Triple-A Omaha Chasers, where the Royals wanted him to pinch run and steal bases against a higher level of competition. The plan was for Gore to come up to the big leagues and be a pinch runner for the team’s postseason run.
“I had zero idea,” Gore says. “I stole bases down there, but I just did it because it was something I was good at.”
Just a month later, Gore made his major league debut against Cleveland, pinch running for the Royals just 26 days after his last game in Single-A.
“It was like he was shot out of a cannon every time he took off,” says ex-major leaguer Rusty Kuntz, then the Royals’ first base coach. “I grew up with Vince Coleman, Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, the guys in the Hall of Fame with that kind of speed, and this guy is right there.”
Players like Salvador Perez, Jarrod Dyson, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas took Gore under their wing, a 23-year old who nearly quit baseball now playing high-pressure games in October.
“I was just hoping and praying to God, do not fall on your face in the middle of the base path,” Gore says. “I am notorious for tripping and I’ve come really close to stumbling, so I was like, do not do this on TV.”
While the Royals did not win the World Series in 2014, they raised the trophy in 2015. That year, Gore stole a base in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros after spending the majority of the season in Double-A. Gore says he does not remember much of his first two postseasons because he blacked out from the pressure. Still, the thrill of success in the majors got him hooked.
“There was no turning back. Once you get a taste of it, it’s almost like a shark,” Gore says. “You get the taste of that blood and you’re like oh man, I want to keep going.”
SINCE THEN, GORE has accepted his role as a premier pinch runner and shifted his training strategy accordingly, de-emphasizing hitting to focus on improving his speed through sprints and flexibility while working on reading pitchers on the mound. Perhaps the only comparable career in MLB history is that of Herb Washington, a four-time All-American sprinter at Michigan State who played two years for the Oakland Athletics, stealing 31 bases without a single at-bat and winning a championship in 1974. Gore’s legs alone got him his first World Series ring, and leaning all the way in like Washington seemed his best course forward.
“I’m just going to ride this wave,” Gore says. “Be really freaking good at it and see where it takes me.”
In 2018, the Royals shipped Gore to the Chicago Cubs, who put him on the postseason roster for the wild-card game, where Gore stole a base and scored a run in a Cubs loss to the Colorado Rockies. He returned to the Royals in 2019, getting his most extended time in the majors to date, playing 37 games while hitting .275/.362/.353 and stealing 13 bases before being sent to the New York Yankees and finding himself back in the minor leagues.
Ahead of the 2020 season, Gore signed with the Dodgers, for whom he appeared in two regular-season games before being added to the 28-man roster for the wild-card game and the NLDS. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it would “be pretty costly” to not have Gore on the playoff roster, despite the outfielder not appearing in any games. And when the Dodgers won the World Series, Gore got his second championship ring.
Gore next signed with the Braves, who did not call him up during the 2021 regular season. But when Atlanta reached the NLDS, Gore joined the roster, making one appearance as a pinch runner. And when the Braves won the World Series, Gore got his third championship ring, his second in a row.
Noticing a trend in how teams used him, Gore and Witasik came up with a different free agent strategy for 2022, deciding not to sign with a team until halfway through the season. The approach allowed Gore to gauge which interested teams had a shot at making the postseason and where he could maximize his impact. They knew the same teams interested in his speed in February would be just as interested in June ahead of a postseason run.
“For 99.9 percent of how things work, you get the player the deal and they develop throughout the season. But with Terrance, he’s not that guy,” Witasik says. “He’s a once-in-a-generation type guy with his speed and skill set.”
Gore feels the pressure every time he takes the field, knowing he’ll be called onto the basepaths in key situations. To prepare for these moments, he reads scouting reports that break down the pickoff moves and windup timing for each pitcher on the opposing team, studying video of how each of them holds runners on base, examining everything from their feet to their eyes.
“I’ve embraced it now. It’s got me three World Series rings so why not just keep on chugging along and see how far I can go.”
He might never win as many rings as Tom Brady, but with another on the line this October, he’s feeling pretty ambitious. If he wins a fourth ring, and his third straight?
“Put me in the Hall of Fame,” Gore says with a laugh.
There has been no shortage of excitement already this NHL offseason. Following the Florida Panthers‘ second consecutive Stanley Cup championship — and seemingly never-ending celebration — the annual period of roster modification has begun.
The 2025 NHL draft included 224 prospects finding new homes, and the weekend included trades for Noah Dobson, Charlie Coyle and John Gibson. On Monday, a slew of re-signings, and the trade of Mitch Marner, took several big names off the free agent big board.
Below you will find our continuously updated free agency tracker for 2025, featuring a list of every player signed, including average annual value of the contract in most cases. Analysis of the biggest deals can be found here.
Note that the newest deals are on top, denoted by date.
Draft recap: All 224 picks
Grades for all 32 teams
Winners and losers
July 3
The Hurricanes have signed the most coveted free agent left on the board; former Jet Nikolaj Ehlers is heading to Carolina via a six-year, $8.5 million AAV contract.
The Sharks are building an elite young core of skilled players, but the front office is also surrounding them with veterans to show the youngsters the ropes. That latter trend continued Thursday, with San Jose agreeing to terms on a two-year, $6.5 million AAV pact with defenseman Dmitry Orlov.
July 2
One of the most legendary old guys without a Stanley Cup, Brent Burns is joining the Avalanche on a one-year contract to try to fill that gap on his résumé.
Perhaps acknowledging that they will no longer be in the Nikolaj Ehlers business, the Jets added a seasoned middle-six winger instead in Gustav Nyquist, who is agreeing to a one-year, $3.25 million pact.
Defenseman Alexander Alexeyev has switched sides in the Capitals-Penguins rivalry! He’ll patrol the blue line in Pittsburgh next season, thanks to a one-year, $775,000 deal.
The Pius Suter Derby is over. The veteran forward will be plying his trade for the Blues, inking a two-year, $4 million AAV pact with the club.
The big addition for the Golden Knights this offseason was Mitch Marner, but they’re making depth moves too, including signing defenseman Kaedan Korczak to a four-year, $3.25 million AAV contract.
Winnipeg: Cold in the winter. Detroit: Slightly less cold in the winter. Mason Appleton is about to find out after signing a two-year, $2.9 million AAV contract.
The Devils saw enough out of Cody Glass during the 2024-25 season to re-sign him. His new deal is for two years, $2.5 million AAV.
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, native Curtis Lazar is headed back to Western Canada, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Oilers.
Veteran winger Anthony Mantha has made the rounds in recent seasons, and his next NHL home is in Pittsburgh, inking a one-year, $2.5 million pact.
July 1
After a brief stint for an American-based team, Andrew Mangiapane is back in Western Canada, inking a two-year, $3.6 million AAV deal with the Oilers.
Forward Justin Brazeau has chosen the Penguins as his next NHL destination, inking a two-year, $1.5 million AAV contract.
The Devils continued adding to their forward depth, adding veteran scoring winger Evgenii Dadonov via a one-year, $1 million deal.
The July 1 goalie rush continues. The Mammoth are the latest team to make an addition in the crease, inking Stanley Cup champion Vitek Vanecek via a one-year, $1.5 million deal.
Offensive defenseman John Klingberg is headed to San Jose, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $4 million pact with the Sharks.
One of the top remaining free agents available, veteran forward Mikael Granlund has landed with the Ducks on a three-year deal.
Veteran bottom-six forward Lars Eller has chosen the Senators as his next team, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1.25 million deal.
The Penguins have extended their business relationships with Philip Tomasino (one year, $1.75 million) and Connor Dewar (one year, $1.1 million).
As part of the effort to retake the title of Florida’s best hockey team, the Lightning have inked Pontus Holmberg to a two-year, $1.55 million AAV contract.
The Wild have added Nico Sturm. The former Panther has signed a two-year, $2 million AAV contract.
The Sabres have entered the chat! The club’s first big deal of the day is inking goaltender Alex Lyon to a two-year, $1.5 million AAV contract.
The Kraken add to their goaltending depth, adding former Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray on a one-year, $1 million contract.
The Islanders had themselves a great draft weekend, and they continue the momentum in free agency, adding veteran forward Jonathan Drouin on a two-year, $4 million AAV deal.
The Stars are on the board. Hours after announcing the official hiring of Glen Gulutzan as the club’s new head coach, the Stars have brought back forward Radek Faksa on a two-year, $3 million AAV contract.
Earlier on Tuesday the Kings lost defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to the Rangers. To help fill that blue-line gap, they signed Cody Ceci (four years, $4.5 million AAV) and Brian Dumoulin (three years, $4 million AAV). They also signed goaltender Anton Forsberg for two years, $2.25 million AAV.
Defenseman Nick Perbix has thus far only known NHL life as a member of the Lightning. He’ll head to Nashville next, agreeing to a two-year, $2.75 million AAV deal with the Predators.
The Panthers have gone to the veteran defenseman well again, signing Jeff Petry to a one-year, $775,000 contract.
Fresh off a Stanley Cup with the Panthers, defenseman Nate Schmidt is joining the Mammoth by way of a three-year, $3.5 million AAV contract.
The NHL career of James van Riemsdyk will continue, as he has agreed to terms with the Red Wings on a one-year, $1 million deal. Separately, the Wings added Jacob Bernard-Docker on a one-year, $875,000 contract.
The Bruins add to their depth, agreeing to terms with Sean Kuraly on a two-year, $1.85 million AAV pact.
Another key member of the Panthers’ championship roster is returning. Veteran forward Tomas Nosek has agreed to a one-year deal.
After completing the 2024-25 season with the Jets, veteran forward Brandon Tanev is sticking in the Central Division, but heading to Utah by way of a three-year, $2.5 million AAV deal.
Take another goalie’s name off the big board! Kaapo Kahkonen has agreed to terms with the Canadiens on a one-year deal worth $1.15 million. In a separate deal, the club also signed forward Sammy Blais.
The winner of the 2020 Hobey Baker Award as the top player in NCAA men’s hockey, defenseman Scott Perunovich has signed a one-year deal with the Mammoth.
In need of some backup goaltending depth, the Islanders agreed to terms with “Big Save” Dave Rittich on a one-year deal.
Diminutive, versatile forward Kailer Yamamoto is the latest player added by the Mammoth, by way of a one-year, $775,000 pact.
Veteran center Nick Bjugstad has made his decision: He’s joining the Blues by way of a two-year contract.
Veteran defenseman Ryan Lindgren finished the 2024-25 season with the Avalanche, and he’ll head northwest for his next NHL home, agreeing to terms on a four-year, $4.5 million AAV contract.
The Senators haven’t been able to lure any new free agents to the club yet, but their re-signing game remains strong. After re-upping with Claude Giroux, the Sens also continued their business relationship with Nick Cousins via a one-year, $825,000 pact.
Sure to be a fan favorite in Beantown, veteran forward Tanner Jeannot has agreed to terms on a five-year contract with the Bruins, with a $3.4 million AAV.
A sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft, winger Michael Pezzetta is going from Montreal to Toronto via a two-year, $787,500 AAV contract.
Connor Brown impressed a lot of viewers with inspired play during the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final. Now, he’ll bring that energy to the Devils, who have signed him to a four-year, $3 million AAV contract.
The defenseman market is one key player smaller, as the Rangers have agreed to terms with Vladislav Gavrikov on a seven-year, $7 million AAV contract.
One of the top goaltending options available is off the board, with Dan Vladar joining the Flyers via a two-year, $3.35 million AAV contract.
Veteran feisty forward Corey Perry is switching sides in the Oilers-Kings rivalry, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with salary and bonuses worth $3.5 million. Separately, the Kings also signed veteran forward Joel Armia to a two-year deal with a $2.5 million AAV.
One of the top available free agents has made a decision … and he’ll be re-signing. Brock Boeser is back with the Canucks by way of a seven-year, $7.3 million AAV contract.
Parker Kelly will continue his career with the Avalanche, agreeing to terms on a four-year contract with a $1.7 million AAV.
Veteran forward Colin Blackwell will be returning to the Stars, agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with a $775,000 AAV.
Christian Dvorak has moved on from the Canadiens, agreeing to a one-year, $5.4 million contract with the Flyers.
Noah Juulsen, welcome to Philly! The Flyers have inked the 28-year-old defenseman to a one-year, $900,000 deal.
Defenseman Ryan Johnson is sticking with the Sabres, agreeing to terms on a three-year deal with a $775,000 AAV.
The top-rated goaltender slated to hit free agency this offseason will not make it to market; Jake Allen is back with the Devils via a five-year contract with a $1.8 million AAV.
Veteran offensive defenseman Tony DeAngelo will be back with the Islanders for 2025-26, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1.75 million contract.
June 30
The Red Wings will be continuing their relationship with veteran forward Patrick Kane, inking a one-year, $3 million extension.
The band is getting back together. After re-upping with Sam Bennett last week, the Panthers re-signed both Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand on Monday.
Rumors of a Mitch Marner trade popped up during draft weekend, and they came to fruition Monday, as the Maple Leafs inked Marner to an eight-year, $12 million average annual value extension, then traded him to the Golden Knights for Nicolas Roy.
The Oilers will not be allowing one of their promising young players to leave via offer sheet, as they signed restricted free agent defenseman Evan Bouchard to a four-year, $10.5 million AAV contract.
Veteran defenseman Ivan Provorov would have been one of the most sought-after blueliners on the free agent market. Instead, he’ll be back with the Blue Jackets for the foreseeable future, agreeing to a seven-year, $8.5 million AAV deal.
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