Tebow hits diamond with fan base in tow

ST. LUCIE, FLA. They PORT shrieked the moment they spotted him on the baseball field. They gave him a standing ovation after each round of bat- ting practice. The lively crowd, nearing almost 600, even cheered him during calisthenics.

Tim Tebow, the legendary University of Florida quarterback and newest member of the New York Mets organization, captivated this sleepy town Monday morning, with kids skipping school and adults calling in sick from work.

There was 10- year- old Jac- quee Methot standing by the fence behind home plate, holding a portrait of Tebow, painted by her older sister, calling out his name.

Uh, any reason you’re not in school?

“It’s a historical field trip,” she said, as adults cheered her answer.

Andy Favata, a Florida alum with a Gators tattoo on his left ankle and wearing a Tebow jer- sey from his days at UF, brought along his 13- year- old daughter, Bella.

Shouldn’t she be in school with the rest of her seventhgrade class?

“She felt sick today,” Favata said. “So it was take- yourdaughter-to- work day. We had to be here.”

It was like that everywhere

Bob Nightengale bnighten@ usatoday. com USA TODAY Sports

Questions loom as to whether Tim Tebow has a future in baseball, although there’s no doubting his commercial appeal.

Tebow began his first day of instructional league ball with the New York Mets on Monday, his first foray into organized baseball since high school. He’s a long shot to make the Mets — or any other major league roster — and yet the Tebow No. 15 jersey was the top seller on the Mets online shop.

For $ 119.99 and free shipping, you can order the “special event item” similar — at least materialwise — to the jersey with moisture- wicking technology Tebow will wear this week in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Typically, jerseys are sold only for players on major league rosters. But an agreement was worked out with jersey supplier Majestic, Major League Baseball spokesman Matt Bourne said in an email to USA TODAY Sports.

Tebow presents the rare case of a player not on the active or 40man roster who has the marketing appeal to sell jerseys. Teams’ 40man rosters typically consist of players on the active roster and disabled list and top prospects closest to the major leagues. The players association will occasionally — albeit rarely — enter into agreements for players expected to make a major league roster.

Since Tebow is not a member of the players association, the revenue will be split however the Mets, Tebow and Majestic see fit.

Members of baseball’s union receive licensing payouts at the end of each year based on service time, an amount that can exceed $ 20,000 for experienced players.

No. 15 was Tebow’s football number at the University of Florida and during his three- season NFL career. Third baseman Matt Reynolds wears No. 15 for the Mets. But judging by the nearly 600 fans who showed up to the Mets training facility in Port St. Lucie, Tebow has overtaken Reynolds as the Mets’ definitive 15.

PATRICK DOVE, TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS “I’m doing it to pursue what’s in my heart and live out a dream,” Tim Tebow said after his first workout with the Mets.