by Tyler Roaix
Tim Tebow just cant seem to find a sport that suites him. He made his triumphant return to the sports world on September when he signed a deal with, none other than, the New York Mets. The minor league deal means Tebow will make his professional baseball debut in the Instructional League on Sept. 19th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The Mets have come out and said this had nothing to do with publicity. “While I and the organization, I think, are mindful of the novel nature of this situation, this decision was strictly driven be baseball,” said Sandy Alderson, general manager of the Mets. “This was not something driven by marketing considerations or anything of the sort. We are extremely intrigued with the potential that Tim has. He has demonstrated over his athletic career that he is a tremendous athlete, has a great character, a competitive spirit.”
Tebow himself has tried to downplay the publicity of the deal.
“I would consider success giving everything I have,” Tebow said. “I would consider success putting in the work and looking back on this opportunity and this journey 10, 15, 20 years from now and saying that I gave everything I had, I did everything I could do to be the best that I could be. I don’t necessarily view success or failure as how many rings or championships or promotions you get.”
Truth be told, it’s hard to me to sit here and buy into anything Tebow, Alderson and the Mets are actually selling. First off, Tim Tebow has played organized baseball since his junior year of high school in 2005.
No professional franchise, in any sport, would ever in their right mind offer a contract to someone who hasn’t actually played the sport in over a decade.
Maybe if they knew they were going to make money. The former Heisman trophy winner’s contract includes a $100,000 signing bonus, which is at least 10 times the amount a real prospect actually gets. If I am Alderson and the Mets, it would be easy to think the promotional benefits alone will quickly make up for whatever they pay him.
Tebow is, in fact, one of the most famous athletes in recent memory. Along with the Heisman, Tebow won two national championships at Florida. His NFL career was not as successful, but wherever he went fans followed. Tebow is also famous for his role at ESPN, as a college football analyst.
That leads into what might be the most ridiculous part of this contract. Tebow’s responsibilities at ESPN will not be affected at all by his baseball career because, the contract allows him to take a couple days off every week to take his seat at the analysts desk.
This part of the deal resulted in a lot of backlash from the sports world. Many players feel as though if Tebow was fully committed to a career in baseball, he would leave ESPN so he could focus 100 percent on baseball. Former pitcher Dallas Braden has been one of those to speak out against the deal.
“Wonder how the kid who doesn’t get to go to instructs feels about Tebow breaking down a defense as opposed to taking hacks or fly balls,” said Braden.
It is still up in the air as to what Tebow’s future looks like in baseball. The Mets may send him to the Arizona Fall League or a winter league, if they feel as though he is ready.
But the only way that I really understood any part of this deal is the fact that it is the Mets simply trying to bring in attention and, in turn, revenue. If I’m a Mets player or fan, I’m taking a hard look at the team and questioning just what on Earth they are doing.