The Tim Tebow Experiment Comes To An End

by Tim Reilly February 17, 2021

The Tim Tebow Experiment has come to an end. After four years in the Mets organization (can you believe it's been four years already?!?), Tebow announced he's hanging up his spikes for good.

Tim Tebow is retiring from professional baseball. https://t.co/9C09gJKK7K

— New York Mets (@Mets) February 18, 2021

I'll be honest, I was embarrassed when the Mets first signed Tebow. It felt like a publicity stunt from day one to put a few more asses in the seats. Tebow provided haters yet another punch line to rag on the Mets about... as if they needed more ammunition.

However, I have to give Tebow credit where credit is due; the guy rode the minor league buses for years without making a peep. He came in not having played baseball since high school and got right to work. While he started off slow, to say the least, he worked his way up to become a respectable ballplayer. The dude hit .273 in Double-A in 2018. Put everything aside and recognize that's impressive. You're facing the best of the best when it comes to prospects in Double-A.

Reality came crashing down in 2019 when he hit just .163. The leap to Triple-A proved to be just as challenging as Tebow's jump to the NFL. It just wasn't meant to be.

Now let's get real. The old "Tebow took someone's spot" argument. It's true. Tebow was a bit of a circus act that was very likely holding down a roster spot of a youngster whose dream it is to reach the majors. There's no way around it. I hate to think someone was held up and might have missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

Like it or not, baseball is a business, and business decisions were made to bring Tebow aboard. I have no doubt a large chunk of attendance figures in games Tebow played can be attributed to his presence. That's the bottom line.

How on earth is it possible to not like Tim Tebow? https://t.co/isrIlQ1AOU

— The 7 Line (@The7Line) August 15, 2017

All things considered, the Tebow experiment probably played out the best way it possibly could have. Asses were put into seats, Tebow lived out his secondary dream of pursuing a baseball career, he didn't fall completely on his face in trying to do so (except for that one time...), there was never a major league promotion, he went about his business quietly and he always treated the fans well. That's all you can ask for.

This is the moment Tim Tebow’s baseball career died. pic.twitter.com/XypKiRuwzD

— Tim Reilly (@LifeOfTimReilly) February 18, 2021

My one hope is that an up-and-comer learned from Tebow's work ethic. If there's just one guy who rises through the ranks and cites Tebow as a positive influence on his career, I'll take it as a win. Time will tell if that ever comes to fruition.

It was time to let the dream go. Yes, you could argue the dream should've never started to begin with. But it happened. Deal with it. Tebow exits the team as quietly as he went about his business each day in the minors. Kudos to him for doing that.

Tebow's a hell of a person. I wish that guy nothing but the best in whatever he pursues next. Just don't get any comeback thoughts. We'll toss you a World Series ring for doing us the favor of not becoming a distraction in 2021.

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