Tim Tebow’s baseball career exists within perpetual air quotes, and other minor league teams are taking notice.
There’s nothing a minor league team loves more than a gimmick, and on Saturday night, with Tebow’s Columbia Fireflies in town, the Charleston RiverDogs were prepared.
When they announced the Fireflies hitters, they used some pointed scoreboard graphics:
We're not sure who IS batting, but we're relatively sure it's not @TimTebow. @MiLBPromos pic.twitter.com/EJIk2XfjdZ
— Charleston RiverDogs (@ChasRiverDogs) June 16, 2017
And that wasn’t the only graphic in store:
This was the same game in which Tebow threw a bat into the stands:
The RiverDogs responded to that as well:
Big thanks to the fan that donated this to us. We needed some fire wood! pic.twitter.com/q9eUIjjKga
— Charleston RiverDogs (@ChasRiverDogs) June 18, 2017
That’s an impressive commitment to humor, so it’s probably not a surprise to you if you didn’t know that Bill Murray is a part owner of the team. (He and Anthony bourdain went to a game together on the Charleston episode of Parts Unknown.)
This is appropriate humor, as it’s not truly mean-spirited, but it does cut to the heart of why Tebow’s entire baseball venture feels so much like a sideshow and how it can overshadow his own teammates.
Tebow, 29, is batting .228/.324/.345 in single-A ball.