Signed by the New York Mets earlier in 2016, Tim Tebow has just been promoted to High-A baseball. This is one of those moments where you remember that all sports are still a business. Because if you look at the numbers, you can’t make much sense to promote him. This is one of those moments where you remember that all sports are a business. Because if you look at the numbers, you make much sense to promote him.
Tebow by the Numbers
Nobody had expected much from him in terms of baseball. It’s true, he hit a homerun on his first at-bat. But since then he has definitely been more fizzle than sizzle. No, he’s not being promoted for his .648 OPS, nor for his horrid pitch recognition. Nope, it the fact that he’s a Heisman Trophy winner with nearly 7 million followers on Twitter and Facebook, and one of the sports world’s most successful brands. And as Five-Thirty-Eight have pointed out, Tebow is actually worse for the team in terms of winning. And if you don’t believe me, the numbers to back it up.
For the sake of comparison, look at another half they too thought they could make it in baseball. Michael Jordan. A man who was ridiculed as nothing more than a publicity stunt. While their impact on their respective sports are incomparable, it’s fun to look at how the two stack up in baseball.
Clearly, MJ was never going to actually make it into the MLB, and when you compare his numbers to Tim Tebow’s, they’re very similar. Poor hitters with less power than you would hope, and plenty of fielding errors. Fun fact, they both play outfield.
Tim Tebow the Ticket Sale Man
So clearly, Tim Tebow isn’t getting promoted because he’s awesome at baseball. At 29 years old it’s very unlikely that he will even sniff the Major Leagues. But I don’t think that’s what really matters. Everyone knows he’s here to sell tickets, and boy does he. Wherever he plays the stadium sells out their tickets. After the announcement of his assignment to the Columbia Fireflies, season tickets were gone quicker than when Tebowing stopped trending.
Many people have scrutinized him for playing baseball. Saying that he’s taking some other kids spot. That because of his selfishness, and the fact that he couldn’t cut it in football some other kid won’t get to live their dream. I call bullshit. If a player is that good they’ll get out of LOW SINGLE A baseball no matter what. It’s true, Tim Tebow did get promoted quicker than Bryce Harper did. But this is the level of baseball where nobody is that close to making it. Where even the most dominant players are still years out from getting called up to the majors. So what’s the harm?
Everyone Relax and Enjoy the Game.
Minor league baseball is one of the great things about America. Some of my favorite memories from growing up we’re going to Dayton Dragons games, cheering on the home team. I never had a clue growing up who any of those guys were. I found out who they were when they came up to the majors, but I was only at the Dragons to watch a game happen. And here’s the thing, the Dragons played at the same level as Columbia does. So what’s the harm in some famous guy playing for them if the people like him? All that does is just add to the entertainment value. And at the end of the day, that’s what sports are. Entertainment. So if that sells tickets go right ahead.
Here’s that first AB homerun by the way…