It is not every day that you see a professional football player end up plying his trade as a professional baseball player, but that is the case with Tim Tebow, the athlete who strongly identifies with his Christian faith on the field and off it. In fact, Tim Tebow made his debut with the New York Mets earlier this week, and thankfully, it looks like the whole media circus did not follow as a semblance of normalcy has returned to the New York Mets camp.
Approximately 250 fans showed up on Tuesday to see outfielder Tim Tebow in action, which is less than half of the 577 that appeared a day earlier for Tebow's instructional league debut. Most of the fans were there so that their baseballs, jerseys and Florida football helmets can get autographed.
Still, this lack of attention did not faze or affect Tebow's concentration, as he managed to hit his first professional home run in batting practice at 11:58 a.m. Tebow shared, "Whether there are five people or 500 people, you can't let that bother you. The size of the crowd. Or what people are saying. The hype or no hype. I just try not to get involved at all, and try not to pay attention, and just focus on being a baseball player.''
Not only that, Tebow does represent an actual baseball player in his get up, receiving instructions while taking some time to know the coaches better. Three batting practice rounds saw some rather impressive hits, and the Christian athlete was clearly in a more relaxed mood. All he required was a little bit of warming up, it seems.
Tebow shared further, "It felt a little more comfortable with a day under my belt. Just getting used to everything, the preparations, just all of those silly things that you have to go through. Getting into the building. Finding everything that you need. The cafeteria. Just getting used to the routine of everything. So it was easier when I came out here today. I felt it went well, and felt like I did a little bit better.''
Tebow's star power in the NFL has continued to spill over to the MLB, where the top seller on MLB's online store on Tuesday was Tebow men's jerseys which is going for $119.99. As for the second best seller, it is not surprising to see the $29.95 Tebow replica T-shirt occupy that spot.
Tebow has a new book published that will be launched this coming October 25 if you're interested to know more about him. Titled 'Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life's Storms', the book touches on his Christian faith that falls within the purview of a football career which did not end up according to what he expected.
In Shaken, Tebow deals with the question of his identity. Do you feel as though it is the world that dictates and shapes who you should be, and how you ought to be feeling? It does seem to be a decent platform to figure out your place on earth and how you fit into God's plans for your life. Perhaps Tebow will do better in the MLB compared to the NFL.
