Tebow is not ready to give up on MLB dream
TRENTON, N.J. – Tim Tebow isn’t ready to give up on his dream of making it to the major leagues – yet. He’s batting .245 with four home runs, 21 RBIs and has 71 strikeouts, second-most in the Eastern League, while playing left field for the New York Mets’ Class AA affiliate.
And Friday night, before going 1for-3 with a double and a strikeout, the 30-year-old said, “I’ve always believed in myself, so I’m not going to stop now.”
But at some point, Tebow said, he may have to consider a timetable for making it to the big leagues, at which point he would quit playing.
“I think that it’s something I’ll have to figure out, pray about it, and see where my heart’s at with everything,” he said.
“It’s hard to necessarily put a timetable on a dream or ambitions or heart, so I think it’s just looking at it, praying about it and figuring out what’s best.”
He didn’t sound like he thinks he’s ready for the big leagues now.
“I don’t know, I think I’m improving every day,” Tebow said when asked if he’d feel ready if he got called up to the majors.
“I still think there’s still a lot of things that I know I will improve on and know I can improve on and I’m making those strides every day. So I think every game, every series I’m improving and I want to keep making those strides.”
During spring training, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he thought Tebow eventually would make it to the major leagues.
Tebow, asked if he still believed what Alderson said, replied, “That’s his beliefs and I appreciate his support. For me, I’ve always believed in myself, so I’m not going to stop now.”
Tebow, who has played 51 games for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, spoke Friday before the start of a three-game series against the Trenton Thunder.
When asked about Tebow’s prospects for making the big leagues, Mets star Yoenis Cespedes, here on a rehab assignment, said, “During spring training I spoke to him and he told me he went to see some hitting coach in California and it’s pretty obvious what the change has been taken from last season to this season.”
Last season, in Class A competition, Tebow batted .226 with eight home runs, 52 RBIs and 126 strikeouts.