Tebow inspires spirit of St. Lucie

Tim Tebow is a hit, even if he doesn’t have many.

The Mets minor league outfielder has helped Single-A St. Lucie crush the team’s attendance record since the former Heisman Trophy winner came to town.

With five games left to play in the team’s 30th Florida State League season, St. Lucie already has broken the franchise’s yearly attendance mark, according to the TC Palm. The record was set in 2011, when St. Lucie drew 105,379 fans at its home games. This season, St. Lucie has totaled 122,215 fans, a number that keeps growing.

“[University of Florida] fans have always turned out to support their athletes, so it’s been a great experience. Gator Nation is everywhere,” Tebow told the newspaper.

Before Tebow joined the team, St. Lucie was averaging a little more than 1,700 fans per game. Since the former NFL quarterback was promoted from Low-A Columbia in late June, the team has seen that average jump to 2,400 over the 24 home games Tebow has played.

“It’s been an incredible buzz and energy he has brought, especially for the timing when he arrived here, too,” St. Lucie Mets general manager Traer Van Allen told the TC Palm. “[Late June] the weather is hotter and it rains a lot more frequently. The impact he has had [on attendance] is huge.”

For every fringe advantage Tebow has offered, his onfield play has sunk. Despite a strong start in St. Lucie, he’s mired in a terrible slump, batting .120 (12-for-100) with one home run in his past 27 games.