The New York Mets have promoted Tim Tebow to Triple A Syracuse. Previously, Tebow played for Double A Binghamton, Single A Columbia and Single A St. Lucie. Tebow is climbing the minor league ladder in hopes that he may one day suite up in City Field for the Mets.
He has suffered growing pains over the last two seasons. However, his game showed some serious improvement last year. Tebow raised his batting average in Binghamton and he became a better all around hitter. His gradual improvement was enough to make New York promote him to Syracuse.
In rookie ball at St. Lucie, Tebow hit .231 with 5 home runs and 29 RBI's. At Columbia, Tebow hit .220 with 3 home runs and 23 RBI's. Last year, with Binghamton, Tebow hit .273 with 6 home runs and 36 RBI's. His fielding percentage has also improved over the last two years. In 2017, with St.Lucie he had a .952 fielding percentage, while with Columbia he had a .879 fielding percentage. Last year in Binghamton, he had a .988 fielding percentage.
Last year, in an interview with the Syracuse Post Dispatch, Binghamton manager Luis Rojas said that Tebow was catching up better with fastballs and that he was doing better with secondary pitches as well. Rojas said that Tebow had improved defensively as well. Tebow's promotion to Syracuse suggests that the Mets' organization has noticed significant improvement in Tebow's game.
Tebow spent 12 years away from baseball. He stopped playing baseball after his junior year in high school. He resumed playing baseball in 2017 at age 29. Considering Tebow had had a long hiatus away from the game, he has done well in the minor leagues. Tebow seems committed to baseball and wants to become a major league baseball player.
If Tebow is eventually promoted to the New York Mets, he would join Deion Sanders, Brian Jordan and Bo Jackson as players who have played both Major League Baseball and in the NFL. A total of 70 athletes have played in the NFL and Major League Baseball. Tebow would be one of the more high profile athletes to do both. Only Jackson garnered as much publicity as Tebow.
Tebow has homered in his first at bat for St. Lucie, Columbia and Binghamton. No doubt his first at bat in Syracuse will attract much attention.
Tebow's presence in Binghamton lead to greater attendance for the Rumble Ponies in road games and in home games. The Rumble Ponies had their best home attendance numbers in 25 years. 220,279 tickets were sold in 2018. Each home game had an average attendance of 3,553 fans. Additionally, jerseys with Tebow's name on the back were sold at the team's gift shop. There was a noticeable "Tebow effect" at the box office, in the stadium and in the community in 2018.
Syracuse is hoping that Tebow can make a similar impact for their club. Last year the Syracuse Mets had 4,202 fans per home game, which was the second lowest average attendance in the International League. The Syracuse Mets will probably sell jerseys with Tebow's name on the back as well.
When the Syracuse Sky Chiefs were the triple A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper played a few games there. However, both Strasburg and Harper were on the fast track to the majors, so neither had a strong impact upon the Syracuse organization or the community. Depending on how long Tebow plays in Syracuse, he should have a greater impact at the box office, on the field and in the community.
Tebow worked hard while he was in Binghamton. He was often the first person and the stadium on game days and for practices. He was often one of the last to leave. Tebow lead by example and by word. Tebow will probably bring the same positive attitude to Syracuse. Any club house can benefit from his character and leadership.
Tebow does not project as a starting major league outfielder. Instead, he figures to be a fourth or fifth outfielder for a big league team. He could also be utilized as a left handed bat off the bench in late innings. At the tripe A level, Tebow will need to continue to improve his ability to hit secondary pitchers. He will have to maintain his bat speed and improve his defense. Tebow has improved his game a lot over the last two seasons. If Tebow wants to reach the big leagues, he needs to continue to improve.
While in Syracuse, Tebow will have to improve his pitch recognition and his ability to hit breaking balls. He needs to continue to improve his defense. Additionally, Tebow needs to maintain his power. He needs to maintain his ability to hit home runs and doubles. He needs to continue to drive runs in and hit well with runners in scoring position. The Triple A level will represent another challenge for Tebow. So, far he has done his best to overcome all challenges that have been put before him.
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