Tebow says he’s loving the minor league grind, aims to get better
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tim Tebow gets weary of the long bus rides and laughs at his teammates’ incessant superstitions. The grind to get better? That’s what fuels Tebow’s drive to pro baseball success even when the ball does not bounce his way.
Tebow carried a .226 batting average through 49 games with the New York Mets’ Single A franchise, the Columbia Fireflies, into Friday night’s home contest with the Charleston RiverDogs, the South Atlantic League club of the New York Yankees that is also in South Carolina.
He’s 29 years old, owns two national titles and a Heisman Trophy as Florida’s quarterback in college and is a college football analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network. Why endure the 10-hour rides, the countless hours in the batting cage and tips from players more than a decade younger? “It’s the competition,” Tebow simply says. It’s a desire that’s been put the test in his first two months in the minor leagues. Tebow shakes his head thinking about the long bus trips.
“After about seven hours, you want it to end,” he said with a smile. He laughs about his playful arguments with other Fireflies about rituals and superstitions that fill the clubhouse.
“There are hits in that bat, in that glove,” Tebow went on. “No.”
For Tebow, baseball is about the chance to be out on the field competing for victories, something he did so well in college with the Gators and even as a young NFL quarterback with the Denver Broncos. Baseball is Tebow’s latest — and perhaps last — opportunity to fan the fire of winning.