Tim Tebow arrived at the New York Mets’ minor-league clubhouse Monday morning in Port St. Lucie, Fla., finding an orange-and-blue jersey with No. 15 on the back in his locker.
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A former below-average professional football player who has not played organized baseball since he was a junior in high school, Tebow, who turned 29 in August, took the field with 57 other aspiring players in the Mets organization who are much younger.
When Tebow signed with the Mets, the team held a conference call in which the National Football League quarterback-turned-baseball player said he was excited to get out on the field and prove he can play.
He was asked if that worked.
On Monday he was given the No15 jersey – the same number he wore at the University of Florida, where he won two championships and forged his reputation. But, now there’s many, many people that own a Tim Tebow Mets jersey. The Patriots need a quarterback now with Tom Brady suspended and fill-in starter Jimmy Garoppolo injured, but Tebow slammed the door shut on that thought.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson waxed a bit defensive when denying that Tebow’s generous signing bonus had anything to do with the lucrative revenue potential of selling Tebow merchandise. “That”s what I would tell them.”.
“I’m part of the Mets family”, he said.
But Tebow said he plans to work out Friday before leaving for his TV job, saying hell probably wind up being gone from camp for only about 24 hours.
That may sound harsh, but Tebow’s performance on Monday wasn’t exactly superb… It’s really hard to deny that this isn’t anything more than a cash grab for the Mets’ minor league teams, and moves like this seem to drive that point home.
“I’m always grateful for that platform to make a change in someone’s life”, Tebow said. (AP) – Tim Tebow says he’s just trying to get better each day in the New York Mets’ instructional league. “I”m a big believer in that.”.
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A lot people inside and outside of baseball expect Tebow to fall flat on his face. “He”s too positive a person for that. You want to prove people right. “Show them that it was the right decision.”.
