Tim Tebow’s baseball stats speak for themselves, but the scouting reports aren’t painting a pretty picture, either.
The former NFL quarterback started his baseball career with a big bang, but it’s been all downhill since then. The New York Mets sent Tebow to the Arizona Fall League where the former Heisman Trophy winner is playing alongside some of the best young talent in baseball.
And so far, he’s not doing a very good job of holding his own. Tebow is 0-for-9 with three strikeouts to start his time in the AFL, and he has yet to hit a ball out of the infield.
According to those who have seen Tebow up close, the results are no fluke.
ESPN’s Keith Law, considered one of the top prospect analysts in baseball, wrote a scathing report of Tebow, and he didn’t hold back in his review.
“His presence here is a farce, and he looks like an imposter pretending to have talent he does not possess,” Law wrote on ESPN.com.
He continued, saying “Tebow the baseball player is not a baseball player; he’s a washed-up quarterback who has size and nothing else.” Law dinged Tebow for a long swing, saying “he wields the bat like someone who hasn’t played the sport in more than a decade, which he hasn’t.”
And on and on.
First-pitch home run aside, it’s still very early in Tebow’s baseball career, and it’s not unrealistic to think he’ll make some improvements at some point. But given his age (he’s almost 30, playing alongside kids in their early 20s) and obvious inexperience, climbing the minor league ranks seemed like a long shot from the beginning.
At the very least, though, Law could have mentioned the whole Good Samaritan thing.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
