Watch: Tebow Breaks Out Against World Series Champions After Slow Start to Spring Training
Given that Tim Tebow had been recovering from a season-ending hand injury last year and was making a big jump in quality of competition, it’s more than understandable that he would struggle out of the gates in spring training.
Still, it’s hard to blame Tebow fans for being concerned about his slow start for the New York Mets.
Prior to Monday’s split-squad game against the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, Tebow had been a less-than-stellar 0-for-6 in his spring training at-bats.
Again, that shouldn’t be any sort of a surprise given the aforementioned issues, but considering Tebow’s preternatural “beginner’s luck,” it makes sense that expectations were still so high.
A 3-run home run off the first pitch he saw in Double-A ball.
Tim Tebow is settling in nicely with the @RumblePoniesBB. (via @PastrickSean) pic.twitter.com/eDmBUu9njH
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 6, 2018
Fortunately, Tebow broke out of his early slump with a solid 2-for-3 performance on Monday in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The first of his hits came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Tebow hit a solid ball just out of the reach of the Red Sox outfielder for a single.
.@TimTebow records his first hit of the spring. #LGM pic.twitter.com/820xsvT81k
— New York Mets (@Mets) March 4, 2019
Tebow’s second hit came in the sixth and went to left field.
Tim Tebow with his second hit of the day pic.twitter.com/g5FJnLDwI6
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) March 4, 2019
As the Orlando Sentinel notes, Tebow was batting ninth and played left field on Monday.
His breakout helped bring his spring training stats to a slightly more respectable level. He now has two hits in nine at-bats for a .222 average.
Obviously, there’s still quite a bit of work for the 31-year-old Tebow to do. Given his well-known work ethic, there’s plenty of reason for optimism.
But even if Tebow were to fail, the former Florida Gators quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner has addressed why he has no regrets about his pursuit of baseball.
“You’re always going to have critics and naysayers and people that are going to tell you that you won’t, that you can’t, that you shouldn’t,” Tebow said at a Mets media session in February. “Most of those people are the people that didn’t, that wouldn’t, that couldn’t.”
“Succeeding or failing is not making it to the bigs or it’s not necessarily fulfilling that. It’s having to not live with regret because I didn’t try,” Tebow added.
Well, the man is certainly trying. Hopefully, his effort will be rewarded with a sustained hitting streak.
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