After all the hype Tim Tebow goes to the New York Mets. I really thought the Braves had him. If anyone needs 15 minutes of fame right now it is the 5th place, National League East Atlanta Braves.
So why does a franchise that has such a dedicated fan base need a washed up, former quarterback? They do not need the one day of media attention, nor the flurry of tweets in the hours after the signing took place. And they do not need Tebow to help this team achieve a playoff spot in future seasons. They are doing just fine in second place, at 9 games behind the Nationals. Tebow will not add or subtract anything.
Admittedly, I am assuming a lot. I am assuming that Tebow will make the team next season. Spoiler Alert: he won’t. He will be great for getting football fans out to Spring Training, because God knows, he will be on that field in Port St. Lucie to put butts in those seats. He may even convert some die-hard Christians to the Gods of baseball, too. Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth have nothing on Jesus Christ. (Well, that’s my opinion.)
Still, Mets’ brass insist that this was not a publicity stunt. Adam Rubin of ESPN quotes a Mets’ spokesperson, “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.” Ok, sure. No baseball scouts or operations guys for the Mets, working under Terry Collins, one of the greatest coaches of the current baseball era, would ever give the ‘Ok’ to select Tim Tebow, who last played baseball in 2005 as a junior in high school.
Fans are not the only ones perplexed and disgusted. The $100,000 signing bonus really rubbed a lot of minor league baseball prospects the wrong way. He gets to jump the line and get a signing bonus? Heck no! Many of those prospects felt disenfranchised, and did what every self-righteous millennial does when feeling hurt: take to twitter to complain about their micro aggressions. Well, I suppose a minor league contract is not a micro aggression, but rather a macro one, especially when you have sacrificed time and money to make it to the ‘big show’ someday, every day since you were in junior high.
You won the Heisman and played in an NFL playoff game. Tim, isn’t that enough?
It is justified rage…and we are all feeling it. We are just going to have to accept that God truly has touched Tim Tebow.