New York Mets: Tim Tebow announces retirement from baseball
Over the years, Tim Tebow‘s professional baseball career felt like little more than a publicity stunt. He would appear in a minor league game, draw capacity crowds, and typically do little to show that he was worthy of a spot in the New York Mets system. When he was left off of the 60 man roster in 2020, it seemed that his journey in the minors had ended.
Although the Mets invited Tebow to be part of the major league portion of spring training, his major league dreams seemed highly unlikely. On Wednesday, he announced his retirement from baseball, saying that he feels called in other directions.
I want to thank the @Mets, Mr. Alderson, the fans and all my teammates for the chance to be a part of such a great organization. I loved every minute of the journey, but at this time I feel called in other directions...
— Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) February 18, 2021
Looking back at Tim Tebow’s time in the New York Mets system
It is easy to mock Tebow’s time with the Mets. He looked stiff and awkward in the batter’s box, like an actor attempting to impersonate a baseball player. But it had also been a decade between high school, when Tebow last appeared on the diamond, and when he made his professional debut.
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He certainly had his highlights. Tebow homered in his first plate appearance in the Mets’ system, and then homered in his first plate appearance when he was called up to High-A. He was named to the Eastern League All Star Game in 2018, an honor that was truly deserved as he showed signs that he could become an asset. In fact, it appeared as though he was on track to make his major league debut that year when a broken hamate bone ended his season.
Based on his promising 2018 showing, there was cautious optimism around his promotion to AAA the following year. Instead, he bombed in Syracuse, producing a .163/.240/.255 batting line with four homers and ten doubles in his 264 plate appearances before injuries ended his season prematurely.
Over the course of his three seasons in the minors, Tebow produced a combined .223/.299/.338 batting line, hitting 18 homers and 48 doubles in his 1048 plate appearances. He had 100 games with at least two strikeouts, an absurdly large number considering that he only appeared in 287 contests. But he still reached AAA and had a degree of success in the minors, more than most players can say. Considering that he had taken a decade off before returning to baseball, his overall body of work is relatively solid.
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Tim Tebow has a new path to walk. It just will not involve being a part of the New York Mets organization.