Is Tim Tebow a good MLB player? Not really. Is Tim Tebow a marketing magnet? Heck yes. That’s why the Mets could trade Tebow during the MLB Winter Meetings.
The big picture: Tebowmania is still very much a thing. Despite his struggles in minor league ball, Tebow could still be seen as a player worth having.
Examining Tebow’s struggles: Here’s a quick look at what Tebow has done at each stop on his MLB journey.
During the 2017 season, Tebow played Single-A ball for the Columbia Fireflies and A-Advanced ball for the St. Lucie Mets.
- Columbia: Tebow batted .220 with 3 home runs, 23 RBI and 69 strikeouts in 64 games.
- St. Lucie: Tebow batted .231 with 5 home runs, 39 RBI and 57 strikeouts in 62 games.
There was some hope that the light was clicking on for Tebow at the plate after his second half in 2017.
During the 2018 season, Tebow played AA ball for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
- Binghampton: Tebow batted .273 with 6 home runs and 36 RBI with 103 strikeouts in 84 games.
The average went up, but the power numbers did not, and Tebow continued to strike out a ton.
Then, after being elevated to AAA ball in 2019 with the Syracuse Mets, Tebow hit a brick wall.
- Syracuse: Tebow batted .163 with 4 home runs and 19 RBI with 98 strikeouts in 77 games.
So clearly, this is a player who’s struggled to string together improvements. And as we wrote last year, the Mets could be getting tired of the Tim Tebow experiment.
Why there’s a market: Tebow could potentially be traded during the MLB Winter Meetings because, quite simply, he sells tickets.
- During Tebow’s 2017 season at Columbia, the Fireflies smashed attendance records as fans flocked to see him play.
- The same thing happened when he advanced to St. Lucie.
- During the 2018 season at Binghampton, Tebow sparked the best attendance numbers for the team in 25 years.
- Last season, Syracuse saw attendance jump 18% from the 2018 campaign.
The bottom line: Whether Tebow is good at baseball or not, he sells tickets.
Teams that want to boost minor league attendance numbers, or teams that really believe their system could help Tebow eventually get to the big stage, could certainly look to make a trade for the former college football and NFL star.