Tim Tebow's big-league dreams are likely dashed, but deserve our respect

[yallerdawg]

The one-time football sensation was derided when he signed a minor-league contract with the Mets to chase a new dream, but Tebow’s improbable if modest success deserves our appreciation

Source: The Guardian, by Les Carpenter


For all the gifs and memes and fragments of an Internet broken by his prodigious swings, Tim Tebow turned out to be a decent baseball player. Probably not a great prospect at 30 years old, but good enough to show that his second sports career wasn’t a joke.

His best shot at a cup of coffee in the major leagues most likely ended with Monday’s diagnosis of a broken wrist. At the time he had been playing for the New York Mets Class-AA team, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, two levels below the big leagues. And the fact he was hitting a respectable .273 with six home runs and a .734 OPS, along with the prospect of the Mets finishing a dreary season in an empty Citi Field, gave legitimacy to the idea he could be called up to the majors when the rosters are expanded to 40 players in September – if for no other reason than to sell tickets.

With the Mets hoping to rebuild for next year, relying on the promise of new, young players, not former football stars in their fourth decade of life, the window on Tebow’s big league dreams almost certainly slammed shut the moment his wrist cracked last Friday night. But if this is the end for Tebow and baseball, we should appreciate what he has done. He has proven himself to be a sports renaissance man.

*****

When you strip away the headlines and hysteria and the chuckles and jokes about the packaged, evangelical Tebow we are left with a man who loves sports so much he was determined to keep playing, even when the world told him to stop. A little more than 30 years into a life lived in bold type, he has been an NFL quarterback, an excellent television analyst and a minor league baseball player who almost proved he deserved a chance at the big leagues.

Not a bad sports life at all.


Read it all at: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2018/jul/24/tim-tebows-big-league-dreams-are-likely-dashed-but-deserve-our-respect


"Well done, good and faithful servant."

[CanSocDem]

1. Hell yes!

With much of 'the sports group' as quick as the general membership to reject quality over minor philosophical differences, this honest appraisal of Tebow's athleticism will be over the heads of the Nader haters.

And I doubt we've heard the last of Tim's athletic career.


k & r


.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Um. . .

. . .he struck out 103 times in 271 at bats. That's 5 times for every 13 at bats.

In a full major league season, most guys get around 550 at bats. This ratio would make it 209 K's in a season. That would be the 6th worst of all time.

He had 6 HR's and 36 RBI. So this extrapolates, as above, to <12 home runs with 72 RBI. He also only walked 22 times, or 44 times to 209 strikes outs. Nearly 5 K's for every BB.

Guys who struck out more than 200 times were guys like Mark Reynolds who had 223 K's, but hit 44 HR and 102 RBI. Or Aaron Judge who struck out 208 times but had 52 homers and 127 RBI. Or, Adam Dunn who struck out 222 times but had 44 homers and 96 RBI for a bad White Sox team. He also walked 105 times.

There are guys like Chris Davis and Chris Carter who struck out a ton and didn't have huge numbers in HR's or RBI, but a lot better than 12 and 72.

Fact is, he is likely taking the spot of someone in AA that actually has a chance to have a career in the bigs.

Given his "toolness" it's hard for me to get past the fact that this is an entitled brat getting his way, even though he's not good enough.

Your assessment of athleticism and mine differ greatly.

[CanSocDem]

7. My point is...

...that despite his weird public persona, not at all unusual in professional sports, he obviously has more athletic ability than most of us. His football history alone sets him apart.

'What became clear in that hallway is the sports Tebow is very much the true Tebow. While his faith is important to him and the good he vows to do is genuine, he is at the core a sports geek – a man not fully comfortable with being a cultural sensation, a man happiest when finding a way to isolate a tight end against an undersized cornerback.

This suspicion has been confirmed by coaches and scouts who have worked closely with Tebow. They tell fantastic stories about a player who could walk up to a dry-erase board and diagram the plays of many of the NFL’s best offensive minds. Those who saw it for the first time were flabbergasted. No one, they said, did this. No one.'

He could've used more coaching in baseball for sure...maybe his "toolness" prevented that. But he gave it a shot and for that I respect him. His religious beliefs are not mine but I suspect they helped him get where he is.


.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Still Not Getting The Interest

He was physically a little ahead of a bunch of other 18 to 20 year olds. Then he flamed out in the NFL, was too pompous to try the CFL, (his accuracy problems probably would have doomed him with those offenses anyway), he plays baseball and strikes out more than anybody in the minors and makes more errors in the outfield, and he's supposed to be a great athlete?

I think the great ones are those that actually succeed.

[Brother Buzz]

2. .273 wasn't half bad, and it was looking like he was just starting to hit his groove - bummer

That being said, he now has ample time to polish his college football analyst gig.

[packman]

3. Screw him and his wacky-doodle mother

Brought religion into sports, and for that he deserves no respect- let him go on to a religious afternoon TV show selling sports drinks and praising God.

[stopbush]

5. This

[CanonRay]

4. Gifted athlete he may be

but asshole he remains.

[Rocknation]

11. EVERYONE'S "big league dreams" deserve respect -- and SELF-respect.

Last edited Thu Dec 7, 2023, 04:04 PM - Edit history (19)

Tebow allowed an over-entitled over-piety to "outscore" whatever self-respect and work ethic that he did have -- but made no effort to invest -- in developing his (God-given?) talents and leadership potential.


Rocknation