Tebow Just Fine with Mets Assigning Him to Class A Columbia Fireflies
Tim Tebow will start the 2017 baseball season with the New York Mets’ Class A Columbia Fireflies of the South Atlantic League.
Not to be confused with Class Advanced-A, it is the lower of the two A classes of Minor League Baseball. Still, Tebow is taking his new assignment by the New York Mets in stride.
After all, it’s been a while since the former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback has played baseball. It won’t be easy, as even in Class A the teams play a grueling, full 140-game season beginning on April 6.
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Tebow, who signed with the Mets on September 8, 2016, hit just .194 in the Arizona Fall League and has hit just .200 in seven Grapefruit League appearances.
He went 0-3 in his last start in left field, a 5-1 loss by the Mets to the Miami Marlins.
He also missed a diving catch that left his uniform ripped at the knees and his arm bloody, according to MLB.com.
However, Tebow has been having a great time at his first MLB spring training camp even though he knows he’ll need to really put in an effort to move forward in MiLB and potentially make it to the big leagues.
It does, however, mean he’ll be riding the bus with the guys from city to city and not getting any VIP treatment but he still is looking forward to his new assignment. Per MLB.com:
"“I just want to go and continue the process,” Tebow said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to just compete.”"
It’s a good attitude to have and a refreshing one coming from a former professional player in another sport.
New York Mets manager Terry Collins has said that while Tebow will stay with the big league club through the rest of the spring, he likely won’t be playing in any more Grapefruit League games.
Tebow is expected to continue preparing for his role with the Fireflies. While Collins didn’t know exactly how the team plans to use him as a player, the president of the Fireflies, Jon Katz, was excited about the role Tebow will play in publicizing the team.
"“Tim Tebow will bring major excitement and national attention to the Fireflies and city of Columbia … We expect this to add to the energy at Spirit Communications Park and around downtown Columbia, especially during our opening weekend.” Katz said, per MLB.com."
He’s right, it likely will add some intrigue into the Fireflies and probably the entire South Atlantic League.
Tebow will likely be under a lot of scrutiny, as usual, with the media and sports fans wanting to see whether he succeeds or fails. Again, Tebow seems to be taking it all just fine:
"“This is a game mentally that you have to be prepared to handle failure. You fail 70 percent of the time, and you’re one of the best players in the game. I’ve learned a lot here.”"
He seems to be alright with either outcome knowing just how difficult the sport can be, and despite knowing that some people want him to fail, while others want to see him become a big league ballplayer.
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Tim Tebow is guaranteed to generate excitement for the Fireflies like he did when he reported to the New York Mets camp for Spring Training.