– Tim Tebow arrived at the New York Mets’ minor league clubhouse Monday morning, finding an orange-and-blue jersey with No. 15 on the back swaying in his locker.
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Majestic Athletic, the uniform provider for Major League Baseball, posted a picture of Tebow’s No. 15, while Jerry Crasnick of ESPN shared a photo of Tebow’s batting practice bats.
Tebow presents the rare case of a player not on the active or 40-man rosters who has the marketing appeal to sell jerseys. The former National Football League star hasn’t played baseball since high school, where he hit.498, but the Mets took a shot on him.
When asked what he would have said to the Patriots had they contacted him Sunday, Tebow said he already had a ready answer. While Bonds likely made more money, he was left off of official jerseys and things like video games where player likenesses are licensed through the union.
Tebow played catch, took batting practice, participated in baserunning and fielding drills and later spoke extensively about following what he termed his lifelong passion to play baseball. That year as a junior in high school he won all-state honors, hit four homers and batted.494.
The instructional league offers only a five-game schedule and it is unlikely Tebow will get a great opportunity to show-off his skills. After signing Tebow to a deal earlier this month, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson denied that it had anything to do with a merchandise play.
“Crickets”, said Paul Taglieri, the executive director of the Mets’ minor league facilities and the person who has overseen the instructional league here for nearly two decades. The goal with this, and why the title is “Shaken” is because every single person in this room and every single person probably in life goes through times where they’re told that you’re not good enough.
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“They said it was pretty interesting”, Collins said. The Patriots are without starting quarterback Tom Brady and backup Jimmy Garoppolo is sidelined by a shoulder injury. He stepped out of the team’s minor league clubhouse just before 10am, milled about with other players for 10 minutes and then took part in some stretching exercises.
