Tim Tebow Could Still See His Baseball Dream Come True
Former star quarterback Tim Tebow hasn’t taken his last at-bat as a member of the New York Mets organization.
Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy-winning signal-caller, has spent recent seasons playing minor league baseball in the Mets’ organization. An injury in 2019, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, have slowed Tebow’s ascent up the baseball ranks.
Whenever the 2021 season officially begins, Tebow is expected to be with the New York Mets once again.
Tim Tebow has pursued his baseball dream in recent years
Tim Tebow starred at Florida in the late 2000s, winning the 2007 Heisman Trophy and nearly capturing two others.
When his NFL stint didn’t work out, Tebow pivoted to minor league baseball. Tebow signed with the New York Mets in 2016 and opened his career in the Arizona Fall League.
From 2017-19, Tebow hit .223 with 18 home runs, 107 RBIs, 48 doubles, and a .299 on-base percentage. Tebow’s best numbers came in 2018, when he hit .273 with six home runs and 36 RBIs at the Class AA level.
Tebow hit an ugly .163 with four home runs, 19 RBIs, and 98 strikeouts in 77 games at Class AAA in 2019. His on-base percentage dipped from .336 to a horrific. .240.
Tebow missed the final few weeks of the 2019 season with a hand injury.
Tebow didn’t play in 2020, outside of spring training
Like most minor leaguers, Tim Tebow lost out on playing in the 2020 season by no fault of their own.
Tebow hit .154 with a home run and two RBIs in 10 spring training games before the coronavirus pandemic forced a lengthy hiatus.
The pandemic had a substantial impact on the baseball campaign. There were no minor league games, and some of the sport’s top prospects instead broke camp with the major league team when the 60-game season opened in July.
Others worked out at an alternate camp site and awaited a call-up.
Players like Tebow — who weren’t veteran depth pieces, top prospects, or something in-between — lost the season entirely. Tebow turned 33 in August.
Tim Tebow’s baseball dreams may not be over yet
New York Mets fans hoping to see Tim Tebow reach the majors in orange and blue don’t have to abandon their dreams yet.
Sandy Alderson, the new Mets president, met with reporters Monday. Alderson signed Tebow to a minor-league deal when he was the Mets’ general manager in 2016.
According to the New York Post, Alderson said Tebow is expected to rejoin the Mets’ organization next season.
“He’s anxious to come back. And I told Tim, ‘Look, Why would you want to end your quest based on a Covid-related reason? You didn’t get a chance to perform this year.’ He was hurt a little bit the previous year. So I think Tim is committed to coming back. And I think we’re committed to giving him an opportunity to do that and we’ll see where it goes.”
Alderson did not specify where Tebow would start next season. Tebow has made it to Triple-A, baseball’s highest minor-league level.
Alderson added that he believes the Mets — and Major League Baseball as a whole — have “benefited” from Tebow’s career change.
“As I said, this is not something that will go on forever. At some point it will lose its cache or the interest of fans,” Alderson said. “But I couldn’t be happier with the way Tim has conducted himself as not only a teammate but a representative of the Mets. So given all that, he’s entitled to another shot post-Covid.”
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