Tim Tebow Hit A Home Run That Went Over The Scoreboard By 20 Feet At His Showcase Today
I haven’t chimed in on the whole “Tim Tebow wants to be a baseball player now” story yet, because that’s Big Cat territory, but I do have some thoughts that I wanted to throw out there.
I wanna preface this by saying I’m not a Tebow hater, nor would I consider myself a supporter of his, either. I couldn’t care less about the guy either way. Looking at this purely as a baseball fan, who’s watching a 29-year-old former NFL quarterback trying to pursue a career in the MLB — he ain’t making it to the majors. That’s just being realistic.
Now, I’m not saying that he won’t get signed by somebody. How many MLB teams were represented at that workout today? Something like 20 teams? Somebody’s gonna give him a shot, just based on his name and athleticism alone. You really have nothing to lose, seeing if you can catch lightning in a bottle down in Single-A. Beyond that, there’s no doubt that he’s an incredible athlete. I don’t think anybody showed up there today expecting to see his speed and agility not meet expectations for what it would take to play professional baseball. However, and stating the obvious here, I’m no scout, but I watch a lot of baseball, and he just kinda looks awkward out there.
For a former NFL quarterback, these are some weak ass throws. They’re not lollipops, but I definitely expected more from a guy who used to make a living with his arm, although I don’t think anyone has ever used “rocket arm” and “Tim Tebow” in the same sentence before, unless they were saying, “Tim Tebow does not have a rocket arm.”
He lacks baseball instincts, which was to be expected. The way he approaches the ball before he fields it isn’t aggressive enough. You can’t tip toe your way up to a ball in the outfield, especially if you’re about to load up for a long throw. His crow-hop, and his throwing motion, all of it just reminds me of high school baseball tryouts. And that would make a lot of sense, since that’s pretty much the last time that Tebow played baseball. He just LOOKS like someone who would be fine enough to play in your Sunday morning baseball league, but if the MLB is the goal here, then yeah. I’d quit while I was ahead.
And we haven’t even talked about his hitting yet. Yeah, the dude’s jacked. Yeah he hit a couple monster homers in BP today. What’s he gonna look like when he sees 95 MPH on the black with a couple changeups, sliders and curveballs mixed in? I’m not even trying to be a baseball hardo here, but I’m telling you he is not prepared for that. What he has on his side in that regard is that he’s obviously a gifted athlete, and from all accounts, he’s coachable, in addition to being one of the most hardworking guys on the planet. But if you can’t hit a curveball, then you can’t hit a curveball, so we’ll see.
The other factor that isn’t being talked about enough, beyond just his ability, is his age. Twenty-nine years old isn’t old in the grand scheme of things, but how many years of minor league baseball do you think he’ll need, before he’s major league ready, if he’s ever ready? And that’s assuming that a team even gives him a shot right away. They might walk away from this workout and say, yeah, let me know where you’re at next spring. And then next spring becomes next summer, and so forth.
Realistically, he’s looking at a minimum of three years in the minors if he gets signed before next season. So, that means that the best case scenario is that he’ll be competing for his first major league roster spot at the age of 33? I’ve heard plenty of Broncos fans saying, “I know better than to doubt the guy,” but I’m gonna doubt the guy. Sorry.
PS — This is a great tweet. The Red Sox gave Rusney Castillo $72 million, basically just because he’s jacked, looked great in a tight shirt, and didn’t look terrible during a workout he held for a few MLB teams. Tebow should’ve gone the Cuban route. Could end up being a costly mistake.