Please don’t take this Tim Tebow minor league deal serious with the New York Mets. And it should not hold any significance, or have an impact to change the complexion of the Mets lineup this year or next. He is no Michael Jordan or Bo Jackson two-star athlete that have made that conversion from football to the baseball diamond.
But Tim Tebow, who has the distinction of being a member of the Jets and now the Mets, only has significance with the name. Get it? Jets and now the Mets. A majority of baseball experts, the scouts and former players in particular were skeptical.
“The movements….This is not about throwing a football, He does not have that mobility or the hand speed to approach a fastball….,” they commented Thursday afternoon. A complete publicity stunt by the Mets that will be short lived is more likely, and Tebow will never step foot in a Major League clubhouse.
By all standards, it’s simply a publicity gimmick or the Mets organization making a deal to appease the agent for future business. Anyone mention Yoenis Cespedes and the connection? Tim Tebow at this point is just a distraction at a time of year when the Mets are striving for another shot at postseason baseball in October.
But this is also the start of another NFL season. Tebow has a better opportunity at making a taxi squad and despite what GM Sandy Alderson said on Thursday, this is not a baseball decision. It’s a coup of a public relations ploy for Tebow and nothing else.
Seriously, Tebow time with the Mets is not going past a brief stint in the minor league system. So, let the former Heisman Trophy recipient have his fun because the Mets certainly will put more efforts in the player-development plan that mean more for their future.
And, Tim Tebow is not a part of that plan and future. Apparently 28 other teams had a better objective last week at a showcase after seeing Tebow take a bat and put a glove on his hand.
This is baseball and not the NFL, and don’t buy the case for Tebow that his former days as an outstanding high school baseball player provide a chance. Two different sports and much more complicated from memorizing a playbook to going over the signs.
Alderson breaks it down, but does not analyze how Tebow will handle a 100-mile fastball at the plate. He says,” Tim is an athlete.” Tim Tebow, with that football canyon of an arm, fielding a ball with accuracy will be tested in instructional league play.
Have to admire what Alderson said about the work ethic and values a Tim Tebow will offer to younger players. Yeah, but this is baseball and not the fundamentals of that work ethic on the gridiron.
Here is the Sandy Alderson assessment of his newest acquisition to the minor league system, and this so much reminds many of when the Yankees always tried to outplay the Mets on the back page.
“In terms of power, in terms of arm, in terms of foot speed and all of those things, we think he can be a baseball player. I think that is understood by his competitiveness and his determination to succeed and improve. From our standpoint this is another opportunity for us to develop a player and see where it goes.”
Then the magic words from Alderson,”We understand most players don’t make it to the major leagues.” Then he said current Mets Seth Lugo and TJ Rivera were not expected to make it to the major leagues. The GM can’t be serious here because Lugo and Rivera made that commitment as youngsters to be big leaguers.
Tim Tebow, and his commitment was to be a star player in the NFL and that was not a success. The consensus was, Tebow and the NFL was a total flop.
So let the fun begin for Tim Tebow. It won’t last long, and for some reason if this minor signing of a publicity stunt does extend beyond, wish him luck.
But for some reason, every Met fan has to be saying: Aren’t there more important priorities for the Mets when it comes to player development?
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