The Tim Tebow Major League Baseball sweepstakes are officially over, as the former quarterback has signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.
Tebow will begin his professional career in Port St. Lucie, Florida, with the Mets’ instructional league team. The league runs from September to October.
The Atlanta Braves had expressed serious interest in Tebow, and appeared to be a pretty big frontrunner to sign the former Heisman Trophy winner. GM John Coppolella had said just earlier this week that his team had multiple conversations with Tebow and his camp. The Colorado Rockies were another team with serious reported interest, but it appears the Mets have beaten both to the punch.
ESPN reports that the Mets decided to sign Tebow on Wednesday:
The Mets decided to sign Tebow on Wednesday, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. General manager Sandy Alderson met with team co-owner Jeff Wilpon, who signed off on Alderson’s suggestion that they get a deal done.
Tebow’s time in the instructional league will be his first time playing organized baseball since he was a junior at Nease High School in Florida all the way back in 2005.
During his workout with 28 of the 30 major league clubs, Tebow ran a 60-yard dash, took fly balls, threw from the outfield as well as taking swings from a pair of former major league pitchers. Tebow reportedly showed decent power during his batting practice.
Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News gave a more detailed description of how his tryout really went:
In the outfield, the 29-year-old appeared awkward, even falling once on the warning track. He caught the ball with two hands and struggled throwing the ball to the bases. His throwing motion, always an issue in the NFL, also raised eyebrows among scouts.
“He’ll have to work on the outfield,” one of the 46 scouts in attendance told the Daily News’ Anthony McCarron.
“He’s an athlete. But it wasn’t fluid. It wasn’t pretty,” another scout told The News.
Tebow did impress with his raw physicality and his running ability was in the ballpark for a major league baserunner.
“The body is just outstanding,” a scout said. “He’s athletic, has speed, power.”
Tebow has gotten his shot, and now the comparisons to two-sport athletes of the past will undoubtedly be flying, whether or not they are fair or not.