Tim Tebow is retiring from baseball after five years as a minor league player for the New York Mets.
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner returned to baseball in 2016 for the first time since his first year of high school and reached Triple-A, encouraged by then general manager and current team president Sandy Alderson.
Tebow, who works for ESPN’s SEC Network as a football analyst during the off-season, played 77 games at the highest level of the secondary baseball league in 2019, with 0.163 hits with four home runs. He ends his career with an average of 0.223 in 287 games.
“I want to thank Mets, Alderson, the fans and all my teammates for the chance to be part of such a huge organization,” said Tebow in a statement released by Mets on Wednesday. “I loved every minute of the trip, but now I feel called in other directions.
“I never want to be partially involved in anything. I always want to be 100% involved in whatever I choose. Thanks again for everyone’s support in this incredible baseball journey, I will always appreciate my time.”
A left-handed outfielder, the 33-year-old was invited to spring training for the major league this season, taking one of New York’s 75 spots after the size of the Major League Baseball spring squad was limited as a precaution. against coronavirus. Position players are not expected to report to the Mets spring complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida, until next week.
Over four big league spring training sessions, Tebow hit 0.151 in 34 games, connecting for his first and only home run last spring, before the fields were closed because of the pandemic.
“It was a pleasure to have Tim in our organization, as he was a consummate professional during his four years with Mets,” said Alderson. “Upon reaching the Triple-A level in 2019, he far exceeded expectations when he entered the system in 2016 and must be very proud of his achievements.”
Tebow’s baseball career started with a bang – he made his first professional hit during an educational league game against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fall of 2016. Later that fall, he made headlines by comforting a fan who had a fit. in the front row of Tebow’s Arizona Fall League debut.
The former NFL defender – a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2010 – was an All-Star in Double-A in 2018, when he hit 0.273 with six home runs in 84 games. He fought the following year in Triple-A and had his season interrupted by a laceration on his left hand.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.