Sorry Tebow, getting your first hit doesn't make you a baseball player

He's been struggling.
 By 
Jacob Lauing
 on 
Sorry Tebow, getting your first hit doesn't make you a baseball player
Tebow was a star quarterback for the University of Florida. Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Tim Tebow is still trying to play baseball, but it hasn't been going well lately.

Playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions — which features minor league prospects from a handful of organizations — Tebow went hitless in his first 13 at-bats, striking out six times.

The ex-NFL quarterback finally found his stroke on Tuesday and laced a single into left-center field.


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But let's be real, how long is the Tim Tebow baseball experiment going to last?

Here's a look at his first hit, which came on a pitch from Duane Underwood Jr., one of the Cubs' best pitching prospects.

The New York Mets signed Tebow to a minor league deal this summer and sent him to the club's instructional league camp, where the organization develops its youngest unseasoned prospects. Tebow had a respectable four hits and two RBIs in three instructional league games, including a home run in his first at-bat.

Given Tebow's high-profile status, his signing was initially labeled a publicity stunt. But Tebow's solid instructional league performance seemed to justify the Mets' faith in Tebow's abilities.

Here, however, in the Arizona Fall League — which traditionally features top prospects from around baseball — Tebow is undoubtedly overmatched.

His signing is starting to look like a gimmick once again.

ESPN's Keith Law ripped Tebow this week, calling him an "imposter pretending to have talent he does not possess."

"Tebow the baseball player is not a baseball player," Law, a former scout, wrote. "He’s a washed-up quarterback who has size and nothing else."

The sentiment on Twitter is similar.

It was only a matter of time before Tebow met his match. Obviously, he could turn things around before the Arizona Fall League wraps up next month, but the baseball world is starting to see the inevitable — Tim Tebow isn't meant to be a baseball player.

According to Law, "in short, there’s absolutely no baseball justification for Tebow to be here."

And for those who saw his first hit as a sign of things to come, it's worth mentioning — Tebow struck out two of his other three at-bats on Tuesday.

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Jacob Lauing

Jacob is Mashable's Sports Intern. He graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he studied journalism and served as editor-in-chief of Mustang News, Cal Poly's student newspaper. Some of Jacob's favorite activities include watching baseball, playing music and eating bagels.

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