As the MLB’s Spring Training is off and running, the New York Mets decided to play former QB Tim Tebow in a series of Spring Games. Tebow has shocked a lot of critics and fans with going in the opposite direction of football, but he has hit the ball well in Spring Training.
He spent the offseason participating in the Mets’ Arizona Fall League, where he batted .194/.296/.242 with 20 strikeouts in 70 plate appearances. However, some people do not like the idea that the Mets are bringing Tebow in.
FoxSports’ anchor Skip Bayless discussed why he did not like the idea of bringing Tebow in.”I must admit, I don’t love this. I don’t love it. I don’t think this is a good idea, at least yet. Let me just say this, this is starting to smell a little bit more like a publicity stunt that you think it has been, because now you’re throwing him into the fire against the reigning Cy Young award winner Rick Porcello, who went 22-4 with a 3.15 [ERA], which was his career best last year.”
“Now it’s a split squad game, so he won’t be up against all the Red Sox starting position players, and I don’t know how long Porcello will go. I don’t know, Tebow, how many at bats he’ll get, but he’s going to hit in the 8-hole as the DH, but here’s the point, maybe the Mets are seeing something early on that I don’t know.”
“I wanted Tebow to ease back in a little more quietly. A little more patiently. I wanted to see, not Spring Training, I told you I want to see a whole season of at least high-A ball, if not AA ball. Tebow could be pretty good in AA ball, he might even turn out very good. I want to see it over the long hot summer because Tebow is still trying to re-learn the game of baseball. It’s the hardest game to learn in the first place.”
With the Mets losing 14 players this season, they need to find a way to get back into playoff contention. Could the answer be Tebow or are they pushing the Tebow express down the throats of loving fans?
“I think I learned a lot of things,” said Tebow, who will open the season in the minors, although the Mets haven’t announced at what level he will begin. “Just getting in there and seeing pitches for the first time, competing. I mean, I felt OK, put some good swings when I swung. You just learn. It was the first day for me, getting a chance to compete, and I’ll learn a lot from it.”
Tebow played the entire game but was not effective. He was 0-3 at bat. “I saw the ball better than probably it looked,” Tebow said. “I was trying to be very disciplined up there. Didn’t necessarily work out in my favor, but take it as a learning opportunity and get better with it.”
Tebow hit a ball that grounded past the second and third base to allow his teammate to score from third base. “That’s a little different than what I’m used to,” Boston Red Sox reliever Noe Ramirez said. “But he got the job done, I guess. He got that runner in [from third base].”
Despite the “Tebow” talk, the Mets took care of business with an 8-7 victory over the Redsox.
