Tim Tebow Struggling in Triple-A: ‘He’s Still Learning’
Tim Tebow was one of the best quarterbacks in the history of college football at the University of Florida, and then had a brief, yet high-profile NFL career with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles.
In late 2016, Tebow announced that he was following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan before him, taking up minor league baseball. Tebow did not announce that he was retiring from football, and even continued working as a broadcaster on college football games, but in 2016 he signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets and has worked his way up in the team’s organization every year since.
This year, at Triple-A, Tebow has been struggling, ESPN reported.
Tebow is batting.136 for his minor league club, the Syracuse Mets. Per his Baseball Reference page, Tebow only has four hits so far this season in 28 at-bats, through eight games. That represents a small sample size, but still not encouraging numbers for the ex-quarterback.
The now 31-year-old Tebow has hit 14 home runs over the course of his minor league career but does not have any this year. Tebow made the Eastern League All-Star team last year when he played for Double-A Binghamton.
The ESPN piece says that Tebow sometimes misses football, but that he “truly loves his life as a professional baseball player.”
Tebow got a late start in baseball, making his debut when he was already in his late 20s, although he is one of several players in their 30s who play for the Mets’ Triple-A squad.
Tim Tebow said a lot of good things about Tom Brady, but two of the GOAT's qualities left a lasting impression on the Mets minor-leaguer. https://t.co/95OhGt3nxU pic.twitter.com/jvJoJ6rJ83
— NESN (@NESN) April 12, 2019
“He’s still learning how to hit some of this pitching,” Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco told ESPN. “I mean, these guys are throwing 97, 98 miles per hour. They’re spinning the baseball. He’s making some adjustments.”
Triple-A rosters often contain a mixture of journeyman veterans who aren’t quite at the major league level, and young phenoms who are on their last stop on the way to the big leagues.
Tebow was invited to major league spring training with the Mets this year, and the team’s then-general manager, Sandy Alderson, said last year, per MLB, that he believed Tebow will eventually make it to the major leagues.
In the fall, following the conclusion of the baseball season, Tebow worked as a college football analyst for SEC Network and ESPN.
Earlier this year, Tebow became engaged to Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, the South African who served as Miss Universe in 2017.
