On Sunday, New York Mets position players reported to Port St. Lucie for Spring Training. Among them is non-roster invitee and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.
Tebow, now 30, is preparing to begin his second full season as a professional baseball player. He hit .226/.309/.347 with eight home runs in 126 games split between two Single-A level in 2017. Not great, obviously, but considering Tebow hadn't played baseball since high school, it's pretty decent.
With Tebow now in camp, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was asked about his status within the organization Sunday, and Alderson said he envisions the former NFL quarterback in the big leagues one day.
Sandy Alderson just said this on Tim Tebow: "I think he will play in the Major Leagues."
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) February 18, 2018
Tebow, for what it's worth, played it straight when asked about one day playing in the show. He said he's focused only on the things he can control right now. Here's what Tebow said Sunday to reporters, including MLB.com's Anthony DiComo:
"My goal isn't about, what's going to happen one day. My goal is to focus on this day -- our outfield work, my training session, getting to know all our coaches and working as hard as I can. I think one of the important things about being an athlete is being able to lock in and have tunnel vision, because I can't worry about one day if I'm going to play in the bigs or not. I got into this because I love it, because I'm passionate about it. For me, it's being able to lock in and have tunnel vision regardless of what team I'm on. Wherever they decide to put me, I'm going to be able to lock in and give it everything I have."
It stands to reason the Mets will either assign Tebow back to High-A St. Lucie to start the regular season, or promote him to their Double-A affiliate in Binghamton. It's worth noting the Mets own their High-A affiliate. Their Double-A affiliate is independently owned and operated. If they send Tebow back to High-A, all the extra ticket and merchandise revenue goes into their pockets.
For now, the Mets have Tebow in spring training and he'll get to play in some Grapefruit League games in the coming weeks. Last year he went 4 for 27 (.148) with one walk and eight strikeouts in nine spring games.
