TRENTON — The world’s most famous Double-A hitter hopped up the dugout steps, took a swig of water, then moved in front of the waiting scrum of reporters.

It has been almost two years since the Mets signed Tim Tebow, and the novelty hasn’t worn off. The Trenton Thunder were near a sellout for Friday’s game, and tickets for Saturday and Sunday’s games are starting to look scarce. And it isn’t because people want to see Tebow’s teammates on the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Tebow has this down to an art. He knows which jokes to make (“The bus rides maybe aren’t as fun, but the rest of it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.), which questions to evade, which answers he can give the same version of in every city.

He has done this before. He has been doing it in some way, shape or form ever since he won the Heisman Trophy as a Florida sophomore in 2007. Tebow, who went 1-for-3 with a double in the Rumble Ponies’ 10-2 loss Friday, might be the most comfortable minor leaguer in front of a camera, which is good because he’s the most famous minor leaguer there is.

“I don’t know if [the attention] surprises me,” Tebow said, who is hitting .245. “To be honest, I don’t know if I really pay too much attention to it. Just try to go about my business and do what I came here to do.”

But the question remains. Why, nine years after he last played at Florida, six years after he last played a regular-season NFL game, are fans arriving at the ballpark 90 minutes early to watch Tebow take batting practice?

“I think the whole thing about it is, that he was so great when he was in college and left such a legacy behind, national championship, things like that, that people just cling onto that sort of thing,” said Rudy, a fan who stood along the third-base line as Tebow warmed up, holding a Tebow figurine from when he was at Florida. “And now you can actually come see him in person. Even though he’s playing baseball, he’s still in phenomenal shape.”

“Just because, he’s, like, changing the game,” Luke, a 15-year-old in an orange Tebow T-shirt, said. “It’s something different.”

If Tebow has an opinion as to why so much attention still follows him, he doesn’t want to share it.

“I don’t know. What do you think?” he asked. “I’m thankful that people wanna come out and watch.”

Whether people eventually will come out and watch him in Queens is another question — one that remains open. Earlier this spring, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he expects Tebow to play in the majors eventually.

“That’s [Alderson’s] belief and I appreciate his support,” Tebow said. “For me, I’ve always believed in myself and so I’m not going to stop now.”

Such a move undoubtedly would be seen as a publicity stunt — Tebow is 30 and has a .230/.317/.353 slash line in his minor league career. But that doesn’t mean this show shouldn’t get a stop at Citi Field.

“I think that’s something I’ll have to figure out, pray about it and see where my heart’s at with everything,” Tebow said. “How do you put a timetable on dreams or ambition or heart?”