When Tim Tebow got a minor league promotion to the high-A St. Lucie Mets, the move was widely mocked as an attention grab by the Mets organization, putting the former football star in a higher class of baseball than his skills could justify. But so far, Tebow is proving the doubters wrong.
Tebow hit a walk-off home run to win Thursday night’s game and has very respectable numbers so far in St. Lucie, with a .972 OPS, a .327 batting average, 10 RBIs and three home runs. He’s currently on an 11-game hitting streak.
“So many guys played so well tonight,” Tebow said after the game. “I just wanted to try and come through in the end and help win it for our team. I’m just thankful to get that opportunity. It was a lot of fun to celebrate with all the guys. We’ve been working to get a lot better, and I feel like over the last couple of weeks we’ve really been improving as a team, so it feels good.”
Tebow is also, of course, a big success at the box office, where fans are buying up tickets and arriving early to watch him warm up.
Those business considerations may be the reason the Mets signed Tebow in the first place, but it’s hard to argue with his results at the plate. Tebow will turn 30 in a month, and he hadn’t played baseball since he was a teenager. Far from being a laughingstock, as so many thought he would be, Tebow is turning into an impressive minor leaguer.