Tim Tebow Needs to Make One Final Leap to Make the Majors

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Now in his third year of a bid to play in MLB after flaming out as an NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow has been fighting an uphill battle to make the majors.

But with the 2007 Heisman Trophy now one step from the big leagues playing for the Class-AAA Syracuse Mets, that fight could be reaching its end.

Through nine games this season, Tebow is 5-for-31 with 13 strikeouts, a problem which has dogged him through much of his career in the minors. In Double-A ball, Tebow struck out in more than 30 percent of his at-bats.

Tim Tebow leads off the ninth inning with another strikeout. He’s 0-for-4 with 2 Ks

B9: PawSox 3, Mets 3 pic.twitter.com/Jak4m4rDE9

— Trish Kilgannon (@trishkilgannon) April 4, 2019

Tebow, 31, will have to cut down on his strikeouts and maximize his power if he wants to become just the eighth athlete to have played in both the NFL and MLB since 1970.

He’s got a shot to do it as the ex-football player has increased his mobility in the field and simplified his stance at the plate in order to minimize his stride and shorten his swing.

“Hopefully one day he’ll be batting third this summer, and I can tell him he’s getting called up,” Syracuse Mets manager Tony DeFrancesco told the Washington Post. “We’re pleased right now. Everybody’s going to pound him inside until he proves he can hit the ball in. He’s shown he can drive the ball the other way. It’s no secret.”

If Tebow keeps improving at his current rate, New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen also sees a stint in the big leagues in his future.

“Right now, AAA is where he can help us most,” Van Wagenen, Tebow’s former agent, told the Post. “He lets the ball get deep in the strike zone and he can capitalize on mistakes. How he does this year is the determining factor.”