TIM TEBOW ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
FLUSHING, N.Y., February 17, 2021 – The New York Mets today announced that outfielder Tim Tebow is retiring from professional baseball.
“It has been a pleasure to have Tim in our organization as he’s been a consummate professional during his four years with the Mets,” said Team President Sandy Alderson. “By reaching the Triple-A level in 2019, he far exceeded expectations when he first entered the system in 2016 and he should be very proud of his accomplishments.”
Tebow, 33, signed with the Mets on September 8, 2016 and participated in the Mets’ instructional league in Port St. Lucie that fall. He hit a home run in his first at-bat in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on September 28, 2016. In his first professional season, he split the year between Columbia (A) and St. Lucie (A). He homered in his first professional at-bat while playing for the Columbia Fireflies.
In 2018, Tebow again went deep in his first at-bat of the season, this time as a member of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (AA). That summer, he was named to the Eastern League All-Star team and represented the East squad as the designated hitter. In 2019, his final professional season, he appeared in 77 games for the Syracuse Mets (AAA) before a laceration on his left hand ended his season.
In three professional seasons, Tebow slashed .223/.299/.338 with 107 runs scored, 48 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, 107 RBI and five stolen bases in 287 games.
“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,” said Tebow. “I loved every minute of the journey, but at this time I feel called in other directions. I never want to be partially in on anything. I always want to be 100 percent in on whatever I choose. Thank you again for everyone’s support of this awesome journey in baseball, I’ll always cherish my time as a Met. #LGM”
2 comments:
Somehow I think now that he realizes he's well past the age for a breakthrough and he's a new husband, he needs to think about the next phase of his life. Instead of blocking someone trying to make the majors as a 20 year old, he'll step aside and the minor league stadiums when they readmit fans will just have to find someone else's jerseys and memorabilia to sell. I'm glad the Mets gave him a chance but it was pretty clear from the beginning that he was overmatched. In almost two full seasons of baseball he amounted to a line of .223/9/54. That might be worth considering if he was in his early 20s, but at this age it's likely only going to go down. Thanks for your contributions and thanks for making room for a more likely prospect to climb the ladder (even if he doesn't sell as much souvenir merchandise).
The injuries and the missed season got Tebow. Otherwise, I believe he would have made it to the majors for his cup of coffee. His AA stats in 2018 were pretty solid, better than almost all minor league OFs. He may not get to play with Alonso and McNeil on the major league level, but he did so effectively there.
He just started so late that he needed nothing but full seasons to progress. That he didn't get.
Post a Comment