In 2000, the Mets reached an agreement with Garth Brooks on a minor-league deal, adding the country singer to the team’s roster for spring training.
Advertisement
Tebow will begin his professional career in Port St. Lucie, Florida, with the Mets’ instructional league team.
The 29-year-old has called recruiters Major League Baseball teams to display in a public workout.
Tebow’s open tryout last month drew mixed reviews from scouts, with some taken aback by the 6-3,260-pounder’s raw power and others quick to pan his below-average throwing arm and merely average speed – key tools for someone whose likely position will be corner outfield.
If Tim Tebow doesn’t develop into a Major League player, it will cost the Mets little. They hosted a legendary first pitch to start a game, and more importantly, they’ve gone 14-4 in their last 18 games, climbed over two teams to get into a statistical tie in the wild card race and are suddenly in an exciting playoff race in September.
The 29-year-old last played in the National Football League in 2012 while with the Jets despite training camp stints with the New England Patriots in 2013 and Philadelphia Eagles in 2015, and he created a stir during his one year with the Jets.
Is Tebow turning to baseball just for the publicity?
Tebow, a three-sport athlete in high school (he played basketball as well), called the decision between choosing football over baseball the second-hardest decision of his life.
As a quarterback, Tebow won the 2007 Heisman Trophy at the University of Florida.
Honestly, I think that Vitale is right: there’s no downside here for the Mets.
The amount of Tebow’s signing bonus – the maximum before the Mets could incur a tax under baseball’s labor contract – was obtained by The Associated Press from a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because the figure was not announced. As Tebow heads to the instructional league, SNY will get plenty of attention that they otherwise might not have had regarding the Mets.
Tebow might be wearing a Mets uniform soon. Please see our terms of service for more information. As CBS Sports writer Matt Snyder noted, the signing comes at no real cost to the Mets.
This is a fairly low-risk, high-reward move for the Mets.
Advertisement
Tebow’s Mets contract is not his first brush with Major League Baseball.
