Tebow hit .226 with eight home runs, 52 RBIs, and 126 strikeouts in 126 games for the Mets’ two Class-A minor league affiliates in 2017
It’s still a long ways to the big leagues for Tim Tebow, but the Heisman Trophy winner did get a spring training invitation from the New York Mets, the team announced Friday.
A star quarterback at the University of Florida before flaming out in the NFL, Tebow hit .226 with eight home runs, 52 runs batted in, and 126 strikeouts in 126 games for the Mets’ two Class-A minor league affiliates in 2017. The 30-year old initially held an open tryout in the summer of 2016 before signing a minor league deal with the Mets. Tebow was previously an All-State baseball player at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told ticket holders last season that Tebow—who also serves as a college football analyst for ESPN—was signed, in part, to sell tickets for attention-starved minor league affiliates, according to the New York Daily News.
Alderson was right.
Tebow helped minor league baseball teams to a surge in attendance not seen since 1994, when NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan played Double-A baseball during his year-long sabbatical from basketball.
Tebow helped two New York Mets Single-A affiliates record records in ticket sales in 2017. First, the Columbia Fireflies saw a 21 percent increase in ticket sales (an additional 54,000 fans) before he was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets’, who saw a 37 percent jump in attendance
ESPN commentator Tim Tebow and ESPN commentator Laura Rutledge are seen on the SEC Nation broadcast setup prior to the start of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs
In 2017 – Tebow’s first full summer of minor league baseball – the 30-year-old outfielder and former football star helped two New York Mets Single-A affiliates record new records in ticket sales. First, the Columbia Fireflies saw a 21 percent increase in ticket sales, which translates to an additional 54,000 fans over the previous season, according to ESPN. Then, after being promoted to the Florida State League on June 28, Tebow’s presence pushed the St. Lucie Mets’ attendance up by 35,803 fans, a 37 percent improvement from last year.
Jordan did have the advantage of playing in larger stadiums and at a higher level of the minors than Tebow.
The Chicago Bulls legend pushed the Birmingham Barons’ attendance to 467,686 fans in 1994, according to ESPN. In fact, the 6,884 fans per game the Barons drew that season remains a franchise and Southern League record.
For Tebow, the sales spike made him one of the best values in baseball. Despite making only $10,000 for the year, Tebow was worth nearly $1.6 million in additional ticket, parking, and concession sales, according to an early-season valuation by Baseball America.
Tim Tebow won two national championships at the University of Florida and won a Heisman
Accuracy issues plagued Tebow in the NFL, although he does boast an 8-6 record as a starter
And when Tebow was on the road, opposing home teams saw an a increase of 2,591 more fans a game than they averaged against other foes, according to ESPN.
Seeing as Tebow hit a modest .226 with eight home runs over 126 games in Columbia and St. Lucie in 2017, and given the fact that he is already on the wrong side of 30, the two-time national champion quarterback is not considered a top baseball prospect.
Tebow was once a first-round pick in the NFL Draft back, getting selected with the 25th overall pick by the Denver Broncos in 2010.
He even had a successful season under center in 2011, going 7-4 and winning a playoff game against Pittsburgh that season.
However, accuracy issues limited his potential as a quarterback and he ultimately failed to win the starting job with the New York Jets in 2012. Tebow went on to have brief stints with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, but never officially played for either team in a regular season game.
Tebow has primarily played outfield in the minors (left). As an NFL player, he also tried to play tight end and fullback in addition to his natural position, quarterback