Tim Tebow's dream to become a professional baseball player has become a reality after he secured a minor league contract with the NY Mets.
Former NFL star Tebow will reportedly begin his professional baseball career in the team's instructional league, which will run from Sept. 18 to Oct. 8 in Port Lucie, Florida. The New York Mets' General Manager Sandy Alderson consulted with co-owner Jeff Wilpon on Wednesday before approving the deal, according to The Christian Post.
Finally on Thursday, Alderson announced that they officially offered Tebow a spot in the team, clarifying that their decision was not merely a publicity stunt.
"While I and the organisation, I think, are mindful of the novel nature of this situation, this decision was strictly driven by baseball," he said. "This was not something that was driven by marketing considerations or anything of the sort. We are extremely intrigued with the potential that Tim has."
"He [Tim] has demonstrated over his athletic career that he is a tremendous athlete, has got character, a competitive spirit. Aside from the age, this is a classic player-development opportunity for us. As an organisation, we're going to provide that development opportunity for Tim," Alderson continued.
The Atlanta Braves also showed interest in getting Tebow. They considered the Heisman Trophy winner a "low-risk investment," but did not secure a contract with the athlete.
Braves General Manager James Coppolella earlier said, "We are interested in Tim because of his potential as a baseball player, not as a gate attraction. We have spoken with his representatives multiple times and all parties involved want this to be a pure baseball thing on every level."
Tebow concentrated more on his football career rather than baseball, and the last time he played the sport was during his junior year at Florida's Nease High School, where he was a 2005 all-state baseball player. Tebow was instrumental in helping his team reach the Final Four of the state's playoffs.
