Tim Tebow opens up about his only regret as Mets give him bad news
The chances were always slim that Tim Tebow was going to be on the New York Mets major league roster come Opening Day.
For that reason, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when the Mets demoted Tebow to minor league camp on Tuesday. The former Heisman winner had just one base hit in 18 at-bats this spring, with 11 strikeouts.
And Tebow himself wasn’t shocked by the move, as he told reporters after learning of his demotion.
“It’s not like it was a shock,” he said, while laughing. “They have been super honest the whole time. We have great relationships and conversations, so it’s not like, ‘Oh my gosh.’”
The 30-year-old football star-turned-baseball prospect really has just one regret about his time with the major league club this year, and it has to do more with an injury he suffered than his poor performance at the plate.
Last month, Tebow was hurt in a freak accident when he tripped over a sprinkler head, thus spraining his ankle.
That meant he was mainly limited to being a designated hitter in spring training.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t do as much with my ankle as I wanted to, which is kind of disappointing,” Tebow said. “But I got to put in a lot of good work and I am feeling I am improving, so that is good.”
Tebow has good reason to be hopeful. Not only can he still appear in spring training games with the major league club — though the Mets would have to “borrow” from the minors — but Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said last month he expects Tebow will one day play in the majors.
“That’s definitely the goal, so it will just be putting in work every day and hopefully one day you get that opportunity,” Tebow said Tuesday, according to the New York Post. “But you can’t be focused on just the end result, it’s got to be on every day, on the process, going back every day and looking at film.”
“Just having the long-term mindset with a here-and-now focus, and that is something I have had my entire baseball time and I will continue to do that.”
Tebow, an outfielder, is expected to start the 2018 regular season with the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
Last year, he split the season between the Mets’ Single-A and High-A affiliates.
Overall, he hit .226 in 430 at-bats, with eight home runs and 52 runs batted in.
Despite his struggles at the plate, Tebow’s teammates have opened up about his humility and inspiring worth ethic.
“I didn’t think he had that rock star mentality. He rode the bus like the rest of us,” Peter Alonso, one of Tebow’s St. Lucie Mets teammates, said. “He wasn’t chartering planes across the state or anything. Being Tim Tebow, he’s probably the most famous minor league baseball player, but he was like a normal teammate.”
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve seen, and it motivates you,” said Patrick Mazeika, another St. Lucie teammate. “You want to be a better person, better player. Everything.”
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