Bashing Tim Tebow might be what all the cool kids are doing, but someone forgot to tell that to a bunch of even cooler guys—MLB All-Stars—who are pulling for the New York Mets prospect to succeed.
From the minute he signed a minor league contract with the Mets, Tim Tebow has been criticized and ridiculed. It’s not much different than how his career as an NFL quarterback went.
There was no possible way he was going to succeed. That’s what the naysayers said.
But since being called up to high-A St. Lucie on June 25th, Tebow has quietly dominated. Through 14 games, Tebow is hitting .318 with four extra-base hits (two home runs), nine RBI, five runs scored and an impressive .912 OPS.
During the festivities surrounding the MLB All-Star Game, ESPN asked nine All-Stars about Tebow, and each one of them was quick to commend him for his determination and freakish athletic ability as he tries to make the transition from the NFL to MLB.
When asked about his thoughts on Tebow’s journey thus far, Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon said that he is “always interested to see when his name pops up and thinks it’s a great story.”
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was quick to silence the critics that have pointed out Tebow’s early-season struggles, saying “You’re gonna fail in baseball because it’s baseball, but I wanna see him do well.”
Arenado was surprisingly supportive when asked about Tebow potentially getting a chance to be called up when rosters expand in September: “Heck yeah, I’ll watch him. I hope he goes deep four times in his first game, too.”
The other All-Stars who showed their support of Tebow were Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers, Detroit Tigers starter Michael Fulmer, Tigers left fielder Justin Upton, Chicago Cubs reliever Wade Davis, Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley and Astros center fielder George Springer.
Mets outfielder and first-time All-Star Michael Conforto, who rejoined the major league club this past Saturday after playing in one rehab game with Tebow for the St. Lucie Mets, had nothing but good things to say about his former (and possibly future) teammate.
“He’s got a good eye, he doesn’t chase,” Conforto said, “and I think really that’s half the battle in the game of baseball as far as being a good hitter.”
For whatever reason, much of the media constantly tries to paint a negative picture of Tebow. However, the former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback knows what he needs to do in order to succeed, and won’t let any criticism get the best of him.