On Wednesday night, the New York Mets announced that minor league outfielder Tim Tebow had retired from his professional baseball career. He played a total of three years in the Mets organization, batting .223/.299/.338, topping out at Triple-A Syracuse.
“I loved every minute of the journey, but at this time I feel called in other directions,” Tebow said in a statement. “I never want to be partially in on anything. I always want to be 100 percent in on whatever I choose. Thank you again for everyone’s support of this awesome journey in baseball, I’ll always cherish my time as a Met.”
Normally, the retirement of a career minor leaguer who topped out at Triple-A is not worthy of national news coverage, but of course Tebow was no normal minor leaguer. He was one of the most celebrated college football players of his era, winning two NCAA National Football Championships at the University of Florida, and winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007.
He was a first round draft pick in the NFL, and his career fizzled out quickly. Three years in the league – two in Denver and one with the New York Jets – was all he lasted. He was one of the league’s most-polarizing players, with ardent defenders and those who insisted (correctly, as it would turn out) that he wasn’t good enough to cut it in the pro ranks.
Tebow hung on to the football dream until 2015, when he had a brief preseason stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, and was a broadcaster for ESPN’s College Football coverage. In 2016, he announced that he wanted to give professional baseball a try.
He had not played competitive baseball since he was in high school in 2005, though at that time he still garnered some draft buzz. Tebow worked out in front of 40 scouts at Dedeaux Field on the campus of USC in Pasadena, California on August 30, 2016. Nine days later, he signed with the Mets.
Many, including myself, were skeptical of Tebow embarking on a minor league baseball career. But he wasn’t like Michael Jordan – who insisted on starting in the high minors and skipping the lower levels. He started off in Single-A Columbia and earned a mid-season promotion to High-A St. Lucie in 2017. Tebow hit .273 in a pitcher-friendly Double-A Eastern League in 2018, a season shortened when he broke the hamate bone in his right hand getting hit by a pitch on July 23.
Tebow’s 2019 season in Triple-A was cut short by injury, ended on July 21 when he required eight stitches after injuring his left pinky while diving for a ball in a game at Toledo. As it turned out, that was his final professional baseball game.
On the surface, Tebow’s final stats are not impressive: he hit .223/.299/.338 in 1048 plate appearances across 287 games. He slugged 18 home runs, 107 RBIs, and struck out 327 times, compared to 85 walks. But when you consider that he had an 11-year gap in his baseball career, that batting line is extraordinary.
The easy route is to laugh and make fun of Tebow for his poor performance and the self-delusion it took for a 28-year-old that far removed from playing baseball to think he could make it. Maybe that’s even fair. Others have pointed to the way he helped teams draw more fans whenever one of the affiliates he would roll into town with. The 2017 Hagerstown Suns drew 22,578 fans for the four-game series where Columbia was in town, and drew 30,139 fans in 31 other home games that year before Tebow was promoted to the Florida State League.
No matter your feelings on Tebow the player, Tebow the person, or Tebow the minor league personnel decision made by the Mets, there’s no denying that there is an important lesson for us all in his tale. Don’t be afraid to fail. When he failed in the NFL, he tried baseball and got as close to the majors as he could have gotten without making it. If not for his season-ending injuries in 2018 and 2019, maybe he would have made it. We’ll never know.
You have to take chances sometimes in life, and the prospect of putting yourself out there and failing is daunting. Tebow has done that repeatedly, and at least in the case of his NFL career, dusted himself off and moved onto the next thing. Undoubtedly he will do that again. Whatever personal failings he has, his determination and willingness to try in the face of public failure and embarrassment is something to admire. Behind every success is a long line of failures, and we could use more examples of that.
Joe Vasile is a broadcaster for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY, AAA) and Bucknell University. He also hosts the baseball history podcast Secondary Lead.
Thank you for writing such a positive, though measured, assessment of Tim and his career. One other thing that could be mentioned was the impact he had on his teammates. His example of discipline, commitment to excellence, and willingness to assist his teammates was something frequently commended by Mets’ staff.
I am glad that Tebow retired. I know he has a lot of good points, but I always thought that he was a sideshow. The only reason he ever got a chance is because of his name. If any other 30 year old went to the Mets and said, hey, I’m 30 years old and and payed high school baseball and I want to play in your minor league system, what do you think the response would be? I just don’t like that he took up a roster spot in the minors that another more viable player could have taken.
I’ve often read about Tebow taking up a roster spot of someone more deserving. Respectfully, would you cite a few examples or even one example of such a player?
The truth is most minor leaguers are on teams just to fill out rosters. Tebow may have been a long-shot, but he was a fine athlete and an incredible competitor. If he had made it, it would have been a great story and would have proved very profitable to the Mets. Who can realistically argue that it wasn’t worth a shot?
It was a stunt. Signing someone who hadn’t played baseball to play in the minors because of his fame is a stunt.
So, when lets say, Terrell Owens shows up and says he wants to play baseball, he should be signed?
I just dont buy it.
Let’s just hope this is last time we need to hear about this guy. Never belonged. Never had a chance. Not a baseball player, certainly not at AAA let alone the Show. This was a classic Wilponian stunt to help make money, like a circus freak from days gone by. He was like Michael Jordan, well, except not being an elite athlete at his primary sport and all the trophies.
This is a fair assessment. I saw Tebow play once, in Columbia. He K’d and ground out twice–hustling both times including a 1-3 come-backer. And he stayed forever to sign stuff for kids.
Tebow was a draw. April 30, 2017 TexasGusCC had flown into Charlotte for business and want to get to together with Brian and I to see The Columbia Fireflies vs the Hickory Crawdads. When I went to buy the tickets in advance but they were sold out because Tebow was playing. Typically you can get tickets behind home plate on the date of the game. Not this series!
The story has a happy ending. We met in a sport bar with a live feed of the Mets game and Brian and I met one of the nicest Met fans in the world , TexasGusCC. A good time was had by all.
It was a blast and I met a couple of great guys and want to see them again soon. I recall the look on Metsense’s face when he said I called and they were sold out! “They’re never sold out! Then, I remembered Tebow is on Columbia…”. LOL, that was a funny moment as well understood exactly what he meant.
I don’t understand the scorn towards this guy. Who did he block? The Mets don’t even have but a few legitimate prospect outfielders in their whole system! And exactly what’s the problem with having him there? He hit .273, how many other “real” prospects didn’t even get to that? Yes, he was there for his name and these teams need to sell tickets to survive… it’s called a business. If Barack Obama wants to join the Cubs A Ball team and play shortstop, you better believe they’ll let him!
I saw Tebow in a AA game against the Hartford Yard Goats in 2019. He was by far the biggest player on the team. He hustled out a double in his one AB. I was rooting for him. I agree with Texas Gus…it wasn’t like we had an over-supply of outfielders.
If we could let Garth Brooks play third, Tebow could certainly play the outfield.