Posted by Tony Plate
7/13/18

Tebow and Team East Battle Team West to a 4-4 tie before losing by “swing off” in All-Star Game

Tim Tebow went 1-4 with a double to left field off of one of the Detroit Tigers top prospects, Erie Righthander Beau Burrows and helped his East Teammates battle the West to a 4-4 tie in the AA Eastern League All Star Game played at Arm & Hammer Park. A special rule called “swing off” decided the winner of Wednesday night’s All-Star Classic played in front of a crowd of 8,296, the ninth-largest crowd in the history of Arm & Hammer Park. There was a head-to-head hitting competition between Will Craig of the Altoona Curve and Zach Green of the Reading Fightin Phil’s which saw Craig’s point total of 305 exceed Green’s 275, giving the Western Division the victory. Tebow proved his critics wrong by showing that he belongs in the All-Star Game. It proves that the NY Mets decision to sign Tebow was not a publicity stunt or they are not trying to take the media attention away from the Yankees.

What mostly helped Tebow achieve the honor of playing in this game was that he has been sizzling and had an amazing month of June by batting approximately .323/.353/.462 in a twenty-game span. There is a possibility that Tebow might receive a promotion to AAA Las Vegas in August. If things continue to go right he might get called up to the parent NY Mets in September since the Mets will not be contenders. The East displayed power early by getting a two-run homer in the second inning from Jan Hernandez (Reading) off Beau Burrows (Erie). In the fourth, Deivi Grullon (Reading) hit a solo home run to right-center to make it 3-0 in favor of the East.

The West began a comeback in the fifth with a walk and four consecutive hits that tied the game at 3-3, then Luigi Rodriguez (Richmond) belted a home run in the eighth to put the West ahead. The East rallied in the ninth as Patrick Mazeika (Binghamton) singled and later scored the tying run on a double by Trey Amburgev (Trenton). The West with the help of Will Craig (Altoona) pulled it out during the “swing off” time session totaling 305 points. The game was exciting; however, I would have liked to see the two squads try to win the game by the regular way instead of by a hitting contest style.