Tim Tebow Assigned to Columbia Fireflies
It's official. Tim Tebow is heading to South Carolina.
New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has announced that Tebow has been assigned to the club's Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League, the Columbia Fireflies. The Fireflies will start their season against the Augusta GreenJackets on Thursday, April 6, at the Spirit Communications Park. Tebow will be an everyday player either as a right fielder or left fielder.
"Sending him to a full-season club is what we hoped to be able to do. And based on what he's done in spring training, and his whole body of work since last fall, we feel comfortable with him going to Columbia," Alderson told Newsday.
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"Tebow's story is so compelling — from the BCS National Championships and the NFL playoffs to reinventing himself as a professional baseball player," Fireflies president John Katz said in a statement via the official Minor League Baseball website. "His humility, faith and unwavering commitment to better himself will bring a new dynamic to our clubhouse," he continued.
Tebow has certainly come a long way since his stint in the Arizona Fall League. He looked overmatched early on, but he has worked steadily on his game. Alderson told Newsday that Tebow's offensive skills have been developing nicely. However, his defense is still a work in progress.
In seven games for the Mets in spring training, Tebow has a 0.200 batting average (4-for-20) at the plate and an on-base percentage of 0.238. Those numbers aren't great, but he should continue to improve.
Meanwhile, a lot of detractors have pointed out that this is just a publicity stunt by the Mets to drum up interest in the team, and they have also complained that Tebow is taking a roster spot away from a more deserving minor-leaguer. Well, Alderson has insisted that Tebow deserves to play for the Fireflies and he said they still have more room on their roster, so Tebow's not really taking anyone's spot.
