New York Mets: Tim Tebow works another debut miracle

Outfielder Tim Tebow has moved up, jumping from Low-A to High-A to continue the most publicized minor league journey in baseball history. What miracle awaits us in the next chapter of the gospel of Tebow?

Say what you want about the Port St. Lucie Mets’ new left fielder, but one thing can’t be denied about Timothy Richard Tebow: He certainly knows how to pick his moments. Tebow only hit three home runs during his 64-game stretch with Low-A Columbia, but he somehow clubbed one out to the opposite field during his Fireflies debut—in his first at-bat, no less.

Tebow couldn’t quite repeat the feat for Port St. Lucie on Wednesday, but he came close. He played both games of the Mets’ doubleheader against the Palm Beach Cardinals and once again stepped up when the scrutiny was highest. Tebow went 1-for-2 in the first contest, notching his first High-A hit, walk and strikeout. Then, in the nightcap, he recorded two more hits, including another opposite-field home run.

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So through one day in High-A, Tebow boasted a .600 batting average and 1.867 OPS. This is perhaps a microcosm of the polarizing star’s appeal: the feeling that, when all eyes are on him, Tebow can—and will—achieve the spectacular. So what if he looks overmatched on a baseball diamond? He looked overmatched on the gridiron and still steered a flailing Denver Broncos team to the playoffs in 2011; he even looked good at times in the process, despite some truly terrible overall numbers.

Could Tebow eventually make his way to Queens and make a similarly paradoxical impact in New York? Imagine Tebow coming off the bench in October and crushing a walk-off bomb to win the World Series. Mets fans may be incredulous, but why not believe? They were on the receiving end of a similar situation two years ago, when 26-year-old rookie Christian Colón pinch-hit during Game 5 of the Fall Classic.

Obviously, no situation is really comparable to Tebow’s, and unlike him, Colón put up good numbers at each minor-league stop. But if he continues advancing at his current pace, Tebow might get a cup of coffee with New York next September (assuming he spends around half of 2018 split between Double- and Triple-A). The Mets won’t worry how his numbers look at each level as long as they feel he is making proper adjustments.

The financial boon Tebow brings with him to every minor-league town is certainly an added bonus. We’re talking about a guy who ranked near the top of NFL jersey sales three years after his last NFL start. Baseball America estimated Tebow drew an extra 2,591 fans per game to each Sally League ballpark when Columbia played on the road, and he generated more than $600,000 in additional revenue for the Fireflies. Now he is set to do the same for Port St. Lucie and the Florida State League, then maybe Binghamton and the Eastern League. Some day, the Tebow Effect could even hit New York City. Publicity stunt or not—whether Tebow has a legitimate shot at the major leagues or not—it sounds like a $100,000 signing bonus well spent for the Mets.

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There’s every chance that Port St. Lucie is as far as Tebow ever advances in minor league baseball. The 29-year-old lived dangerously close to the Mendoza Line in Low-A, so the jump in difficulty could ultimately prove too steep. You could even argue Tebow was overwhelmed in Columbia. You could even argue he was overwhelmed when he invited all 30 MLB teams to a tryout last August.

Yet here we are 10 months later, and the Tebow pipe dream is still very much alive.