Mets promote Tebow to high-A St. Lucie

[Boris13c]

Tim Tebow to pursue a career in professional baseball

Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN broadcaster Tim Tebow is actively pursuing a career in professional baseball and plans to hold a workout for Major League Baseball teams later this month, according to his agents Jimmy Sexton and Nick Khan.

For almost the past year, Tebow has been training in Arizona and Los Angeles to hone his play as a professional batter and outfielder in a sport he has not played on a full-time basis since he was in high school in 2005.

Tebow was an All-State baseball player in Florida and hit .494 as a junior, helping Nease High School reach the final four of the Florida state playoffs.

I read this and Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days immediately started playing in my head



* edited to change title

[DaDitka]

So.....instead of working hard to get better at football.....he decides to sit at a desk for a couple years and then change sports.

It would literally take 'divine intervention' for this to go anywhere.

Don't get me wrong....every MLB team would love to have him drawing fans to a minor league venue.....but now one is expecting to mold a 29 year old into a MLB player and nothing in his past says he's going to be receptive to putting in the work in the minor leagues.

[bearsfaninaz]

Eh it's Tebow and baseball. Two things i care nothing about.

[southdakbearfan]

Unless he can throw 95+, which it says he was a hitter not a pitcher, it's a publicity stunt pipe dream.

[mmmc_35]

Not that I think he will make it, but batting 500 is impressive. High School football and Baseball star. Pussy just thrown his way. Kind of jealous.

[Otis Day]

^

[Boris13c]

Not that I think he will make it, but batting 500 is impressive. High School football and Baseball star. Pussy just thrown his way. Kind of jealous.

pussy thrown his way that he did not accept if his celibacy claims are true

[RING4CHI]

Eh, I kind of applaud him. He's pursuing an opportunity the majority of us don't get. An opportunity most of us would probably like to have.

[Boris13c]

Twenty MLB teams to attend Tim Tebow's workout on Aug. 30

Tim Tebow is scheduled to hold a workout for Major League Baseball teams on Aug. 30 in Los Angeles, a source told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.

More than 20 MLB teams are confirmed to attend the workout, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

For almost the past year, Tebow has been training in Arizona and Los Angeles to hone his hitting and fielding skills in a sport he has not played on a full-time basis since 2005.

Tebow was an all-state baseball player in Florida that year and hit .494 as a junior, helping Nease High School reach the final four of the Florida state playoffs.

Tebow had a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers before this season, sources have told ESPN's Darren Rovell. A scout was present for the workout, and the team showed interest in Tebow afterward, the sources said.

[UOK]

This is strictly for the potential income surrounding his name.

[Boris13c]

No doubt. Anyone who does sign him will see an immediate spike in jersey sales and who knows what else.

[Boris13c]

Baseball scouts on Tim Tebow range from 'waste of time' to 'better than I expected'

As the crowd watched, Tebow, at 29 a decade older than a typical baseball prospect, tightened his grip on the bat.

“There were a lot of nerves, a lot of pressure,’’ he said later.

There were a lot of opinions, too, after the showcase that gave scouts a chance to evaluate Tebow’s speed, throwing arm, defensive skill and hitting ability.

“It was a complete waste of time,’’ said an American League scout, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about his assessment. “It was like watching an actor trying to portray a baseball player.

“He tried. He tried. That’s the best I can say. He is crazy strong, and could run well in one direction, but that’s it. He only had one good throw of all his throws.’’

A National League scout saw things more favorably.

“Better than I expected, to be honest," he said of the 6-3, 260-pound Tebow. “…That's a big dude, for as fast as he can run. The power was impressive, but I wish he could have translated it maybe a little better (against live pitching).”

[Boris13c]

Mets sign Tim Tebow to minor league deal

The New York Mets signed Tim Tebow to a minor league contract and said he will begin his professional baseball career on their instructional league team in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The Mets decided to sign Tebow on Wednesday, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. General manager Sandy Alderson met with team co-owner Jeff Wilpon, who signed off on Alderson's suggestion that they get a deal done.

The instructional league runs from September to October.

Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella had confirmed earlier this week that the team had interest in Tebow and had "multiple" conversations with Tebow's representatives as a step toward signing him to a professional baseball contract.

Tebow, 29, worked out for 46 scouts representing 28 teams last week in Los Angeles.

Tebow, who hasn't played organized baseball since his junior year at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida, in 2005, has been working out with former big league catcher Chad Moeller in Scottsdale, Arizona, since Memorial Day. Tebow spent almost two hours last week at the USC's Dedeaux Field running a 60-yard dash, shagging fly balls, throwing from the outfield and taking swings against former major league pitchers David Aardsma and Chad Smith in his audition for clubs.

[UOK]

Eh, I don't wish him ill. He's a nice enough guy who's dealt with a TON of criticism and media invasiveness and handled it all with relative awkward grace. If he was willing to not play QB he'd probably still be in the NFL, but, well, here we are.

[Boris13c]

I'm with you UOK

I actually kind of like the guy for one reason at least ... I owe him for winning me money on that Bronco/Steeler playoff game in which he completed the pass of his NFL career to beat Pittsburgh

as a QB, he was really kind of like Bobby Douglass, who also was a strong bull of a dude who had trouble in the passing game and who also was suggested may have been better served by changing positions

[Moriarty]

I don't understand the guy's mindset at all.

He insists on being an NFL QB, which he doesn't look well-suited for.
He refuses to consider options like TE/h-B/wildcat, which he stands a chance at, and walks from football.
He does nothing for a bit.
Then he makes a wild longshot bid at playing baseball.


If his attitude is "QB or nothing", what is the point of the baseball run?
When he tries to break into baseball, it looks like he can't let go of professional athletic competition - whether it's the adrenaline, attention, competition, whatever. But if that's the case, why refuse the TE opportunities? He had a lot better chance of being a professional athlete that way than in baseball.
And if QBing is everything to him, why not go to Canada, be a starter there, and try and work your way back into the NFL from there?

Nothing about what he's doing makes sense to me.

[Boris13c]

Tim Tebow hits a home run in first professional at-bat, of course

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about Tim Tebow’s attempt to play professional baseball.

But one thing that can’t be denied is the guy has an incredible amount of athletic talent.

The former Broncos first-rounder started his baseball career in just about the Tebow-est way possible today, hitting a home run to the opposite field in his first at-bat, via ESPN.

Tebow was signed by the Mets, and sent to their instructional league team in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Today’s game was against a bunch of Cardinals prospects, and from the video, it looks like the smallest crowd he’s ever played in front of.

[Boris13c]

Tim Tebow to report to Arizona Fall League, will face his toughest baseball test yet

One of the most famous farmhands in MiLB history is about to face a pretty big test, as the Mets made the following announcement Tuesday regarding former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow:

.@TimTebow will report this Sunday to the @MLBazFallLeague and play for Scottsdale. The team is managed by Tom Goodwin. #Metspic.twitter.com/X7OgstwOPt
— New York Mets (@Mets) October 4, 2016

Tebow went 4 for 14 (.286) with a home run in instructionals and now the competition takes a big step up. While instructional leagues are peppered with teenagers, players rehabbing injuries and those from the lowest levels of the minors, the Arizona Fall League is stiff competition.

For those unfamiliar, the AFL fields some of the top prospects in baseball. Most are Double-A and Triple-A level players. Each team sends six players and can use up to two from lower levels than Double-A (hence Tebow's eligibility for inclusion). That leaves six teams of 30 players to take part in the action for the month of October.

[Boris13c]

long article but worth a read

Tim Tebow Believes. Do You?

There always seems to be this divide with Tebow, a divide that began back in his college days, when he rose to fame for playing football and professing his faith. It’s the divide between the way Tebow views himself and the way the rest of the world does. On one side we have Tebow, the dreamer, the ultimate believer, and his band of disciples. And on the other side, we have … well, it’s more complicated.

There are the cynics and critics, of course—people who just can’t stand Tebow. But there are also the Realists—smart, rational people who see Tebow’s actions sometimes and can’t exactly square them. The Realist is probably the person whom most of us identify with. The Realist is the observer asking questions with a healthy dose of skepticism. The Realist is the one who left the park that night, wondering, Why is Tim Tebow playing baseball?

To which Tebow responds, “Why not? Why does everything start out with a negative connotation? Unfortunately sometimes we look at things in a negative way, rather than striving for what we want to do, and what we believe in, and lifting each other up, and building each other up…” He’s getting fired up again.

“Gosh, that’s someone that I want to be.”

say what you want about Tebow, wouldn't we all like the chance and opportunity to chase our dreams?

many baseball people were against his effort, claiming he was taking a spot from a more worthy prospect, but his signing was more for the publicity and interest a younger anonymous prospect wouldn't be bringing with him

[Boris13c]

Mets G.M. on Tim Tebow: “We recognize this is not a usual circumstance”

The traditional stats might not seem to merit a promotion, but the Mets are seeing things in Tim Tebow to justify moving him up a level in their minor league system.

Despite hitting .220 for the low-A Columbia Fireflies, the Mets promoted him to high-A St. Lucie yesterday.

“His on-base, his isolated power, his swing, exit velocity. A lot of different things have been much better in the last 15 games or something like that,” Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said, via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. “On the other hand, we recognize this is not a usual circumstance, but we just felt, everything involved, it was about the right time for him to move to high-A ball.”

Tebow has 23 RBI and three home runs, but he’s also second on the team with 14 doubles. He strikes out a lot (69 times in 214 at bats), and he’s also 29 years old.

“I think we’re pleased with the first half of the season. It’s not like he’s tearing up the league, but at the same time all the indications are positive in terms of various things we look at, chase rates, exit velocities and other things,” Alderson said. “The bottom line is the average isn’t there, but he’s improving. . . .

“There was a chance he would completely bomb in spring training, that didn’t happen. His performance there justified assignment to a full-season club. He went to Columbia. I wouldn’t say he’s excelled there, but I would say what he’s done there, given all the circumstances, justifies the promotion to St. Lucie.”

That’s just about the definition of damning with faint praise, but Tebow has continued to work on his second sport, and get high marks for his intangibles. That’s always been the case, regardless of sport.

[Boris13c]

Tim Tebow blasts two-run homer on first day in high-Class A

There has been plenty of discussion since the New York Mets announced they would be moving Tim Tebow to their advanced-Class A affiliate over whether the promotion was justified. His .222 batting average with the Columbia Fireflies didn’t seem to warrant it. His play in the field didn’t seem good enough. In his first day with the St. Lucie Mets, Tebow at least acted like it was deserved.

Tebow got his first Florida State League hit in his second at-bat in St. Lucie. It came in the first game of a doubleheader against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Wednesday. The 29-year-old former football star followed that up by launching a two-run home run to center in his first at-bat of the second game, much to the delight of the home crowd.

With four home runs in the minors, Tebow surpassed Michael Jordan’s career total, although the former basketball star hit all three of his in Class AA.

Maybe the Mets organization saw something the rest of us didn’t, maybe it was divine intervention, maybe there was a strong wind blowing out to center field. Either way, it was reminiscent of his first day with the Fireflies in which the Heisman Trophy winner hit a two-run homer in his first game in low-Class A. (I bet the Binghamton Rumble Ponies can’t wait for that first outing in Class AA.)

[Boris13c]

Tim Tebow plays home run hero as St. Lucie walks off in seventh

Tim Tebow's one-out, solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning sent the Class A St. Lucie Mets to a dramatic 5-4 comeback victory Thursday night over the Daytona Tortugas.

Tebow belted the 0-1 fastball from Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer Austin Orewiler over the left-field fence, sending a crowd of 2,667 at First Data Field into a frenzy. He has hit safely in 11 straight games.

Tebow, 29, was doused with Gatorade and mobbed by teammates when he reached home plate.

"It was fun to celebrate with all the guys," Tebow said.

Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback, said it was his first walk-off homer since his junior year at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, near Jacksonville. He did not play his senior year in order to focus on football.

maybe he's getting it

He has hit safely in 11 straight games.

impressive at any level