Tim Tebow will get an MLB promotion
While he’s been in the minors for a short time, Tebow has been a consistent draw. With the Single-A Columbia Fireflies, he was helping his team (and the South Atlantic League in general) double its attendance. With the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets, it’s been more of the same.
The Tebow Effect pic.twitter.com/19DYG30ARK
— Dave Hyde (@davehydesports) June 27, 2017
Now, a more skeptical person can look at Tebow’s stats and instantly shoot down the idea that he should be in the majors. He’s been better in a limited sample size in Port Lucie, but there are certainly more worthy players of getting promoted. Aside from running into the occasional pitch or making a highlight reel worthy play in the outfield, Tebow has struggled.
That’s all true. It’s also all completely irrelevant.
If the New York Mets were a winning team, it would be a fantastic argument. But they’re not. The Mets are well out of postseason contention and have done essentially nothing to show themselves capable of getting into the mix.
So, New York is facing a September filled with a lot of meaningless games. Think of all the competition in New York in the sports market alone. Now, think of all of the non-sports entertainment options that the fans have in The Big Apple. A non-contending team ending its season may not be too appealing. The people need to be given something special.
That’s Tebow.
If you’re still not sold, think of it from this perspective. Tebow has a loyal fan base of people who will want to see him in the future. If he gets a September call-up and performs well, maybe those people are on to something. But if he struggles, New York would be easily justified in having Tebow in the minors for the 2018 season, if he’s in the organization at all. One of the benefits of a bad season is getting to resolve issues like that.
The only qualifier to all of this is that the Mets remain out of playoff contention. Assuming that happens, expect to see Tebow roaming the Citi Field outfield in September.