Tim Tebow Is Here to Play

The former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst is chasing his baseball dreams and you might as well accept it, dammit.

Photograph courtesy of ThePostGame.com

Tim Tebow is a baseball player now. I repeat: TIM TEBOW IS A BASEBALL PLAYER NOW. Read it. Weep about it. Talk about it. Jump for joy about it. Laugh about it. Be mad. Be happy. Whatever you do, just accept the fact that it’s actually happening.

From the moment Tebow signed with the New York Mets back in September, it seemed as if the entire Internet exploded — and not so much in a positive light. Even after he publicly announced wanting to pursue baseball as a career in August, a majority of people were still heckling at the idea. This guy was arguably one of the greatest college players to ever play. He had a brief career with the NFL and he’s a pretty good analyst on ESPN, and now he’s chosen to pursue a baseball career with the MLB. So yes, maybe Tebow has a million ideas buzzing in his mind about possible career choices. It’s obviously been a bit hectic, but no one should be criticizing what he wants to do with his life. I’m a bit biased being a born and raised Gator, but Tim Tebow is genuinely just a fantastic overall human being. Outside the sports world, he’s accomplished so much with charity and with his foundation, the Tim Tebow Foundation.

Many skeptics believe this whole shebang is purely just for publicity — for both Tebow and the Mets. From a business standpoint, it is absolutely brilliant from both parties. But like I will keep repeating throughout this whole article, Tebow is not in it for the publicity. He’s chasing his dream of becoming a baseball player and not paying attention to what society or what the media is saying about him in the process. Did the Mets sign him for attention? Maybe a little bit, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re still a baseball organization on the hunt for a World Series title. Adding Tebow to their organization, not even their 40-man roster, is not going to hurt them. With names such as Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera still alive and well on the Mets roster, adding Tebow to the organization could pay dividends if they can develop his swing.

Some people are making the argument that it’s unfair for Tebow to come in and take a spot away from another deserving prospect. To an extent, I do agree it’s a little outrageous how everything has played out so far. I also agree it’s a little crazy that Tebow is pursuing his baseball career while still being an analyst for ESPN. As expected, minor league ball is pretty cut-throat, but think of it in this retrospect: think about a student-athlete. On top of workouts, practices, conditioning, games, etc., a prospective athlete is still expected to show up to classes. Things are obviously a little different in this situation, but the concept is still there. I’m not taking away from any other minor leaguers at all — I know the grind is tough as hell. I’m just saying no one should be taking away from the fact that Tebow is making strides in his baseball career while still working for ESPN.

The thing about Tebow is that when he sees something he wants, he’ll go and get it. Dare I even mention the Promise speech after the heartbreaking loss to Ole Miss in 2008? I’m not going to go into deep detail about everything leading up to traveling to Mets’ spring training facility, but again, I do want to make nice and clear that Tebow is here to work.

Not going to lie, I was pretty damn excited when I got the update his first ever hit as a signed Major League Baseball player was a shot over the left-center field wall. After not playing baseball since high school, how could you have not been impressed with such a feat? Granted it was just in a Florida instructional league, but a homerun is a homerun. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that from judging off that single hit, he can make it in the majors. That’s absolutely insane to think. Going 4-for-14 and having a batting average of .286 in the instructional league isn’t exactly anything super exciting, but it is a starting point for any player, let alone Tebow. In the Arizona Fall League, he finished with a batting average of .245, and has since arrived to Port St. Lucie for minor league camps.

The grind never stops while working your way up in the baseball world, and Tebow is here to prove that he is going to do just that. And whether you like it or not, you might as well sit back and enjoy the show.