“As Mr. Alderson said, you have to give it a break”.
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Having flopped with the New York Jets, Tim Tebow will try to revive his career as an outfielder with the Mets. “We understand he’s going to be a tremendous role model for our players in the system”.
“The idea that any one player has no chance of making it to the big leagues, I reject”, he said. This is not Deion Sanders. Michael Jordan couldn’t make it work and he’s twice the athlete Tebow is. The league runs from September to October.
Oh, and yes, that will continue.
Under the terms of his Mets deal, Tebow will report to the one-month instructional league in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He has demonstrated more than rudimentary baseball skills and we think with his commitment to success that this is an opportunity that we think is worthwhile.
Ah yes, this is what it’s all about.
It’s like a modern-day version of Bob Hope visiting the troops during the holidays. “If you ever need a place to practice your swing stop by NYSEG Stadium”.
When asked how he will measure the success of his baseball pursuits, he responded, “I would consider success giving everything I have”.
Well, that’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.
Alderson: “While I and the organization are mindful of the novel nature of this situation, this decision was strictly driven by baseball”. “This was not something that was driven by marketing considerations or anything of the sort”.
And, perhaps so too are the New York Mets. “We are extremely intrigued with the potential Tim has”. Alderson told reporters on a conference call today that Tebow is not being brought in as a ploy to sell merchandise. “We are willing to spend x number of years to find out if he can”.
Tebow played 12 games with the Jets in 2012, so he should know his way around the subway. He’s no longer a kid.
While Tebow said this isn’t about money, he has been trying to capitalize on the newly found interest in him and his possible baseball career. “That’s what’s great about America”.
If this venture ends the way most people expect it to, Tebow will get discouraged by the bus trips and the failure in the minors and go back to his TV work with ESPN.
It only serves the narrative that this baseball thing is an ornate publicity stunt by the media-savvy former quarterback. This wasn’t part of the agreement, and wasn’t something Tim demanded. Alderson could not predict what would follow, with options including a place in the Arizona Fall League, another winter league, or continued individualized instruction. He could be invited to spring training with the Mets in February. The Mets’ roots run pretty deep in Port St. Lucie, also the home of their spring-training operations, and the FSL is notorious for very bad, terrible attendance numbers (the Lakeland Tigers have averaged 334 [!] fans per game this season).
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“Part of it was because of this layoff”, Alderson said of the uneven performance.
