Even though he only had a .056 average and 11 strikeouts in 18 at-bats in major-league spring training last season, Tim Tebow was almost certainly going to get a crack in the big leagues at the end of last season.
However, the former Heisman winner’s season was cut short by a hand injury. Before the injury, Tebow hit .273/.336/.399, with six home runs over 298 plate appearances in Double-A at Binghamton.
Those are not exactly numbers that would warrant a ticket to The Show — Tebow also whiffed 103 times in his 298 plate appearances — but he seems bound for one regardless.
The odds are stacked against the Mets being competitive this season as three of the other teams in the NL East — the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington Nationals — project to be potential playoff teams.
That’s bad news for the team, but good news for Tebow’s chances of playing for the Mets during the final month of the season — if not before.
“If by some miracle the Mets are competing late into the year, there’s still an opportunity to give Tebow a shot at playing in a big league game. There are garbage innings aplenty during the final month of the season. Until they’re complexly out of the race or have clinched a playoff berth, there’s always the chance to see Tebow play in a 25-4 loss,” according to FanSided. “Once their season ends, Tebow will be 32. Without a major league at-bat under his belt, the urgency to get him on the roster at some point will be greater than ever for him and the big league squad.”
“Timmy is not a guy you want to put restraints on,” Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said in November. “If he sees a block, he’s going to work that much harder to go overcome whatever somebody places on him. I believe in him.”
Whether it’s to succeed on the field or sell tickets off of it remains unclear.
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