ESPN commentator and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow may be looking to jump to a different pro sports league with plans to hold a tryout for Major League Baseball teams, his agents report.
For nearly, a year Tebow, 29, has been training in both Los Angeles and Arizona with an eye toward rekindling top level performance in a sport he hasn’t excelled at since his school days back in 2005.
ESPN reports that the former quarterback, cut by the Philadelphia Eagles before the regular season in 2015, was an All-State baseball player in Florida hitting .494 in his junior year of high school. During his time with the team, Nease High School reached the final four during the 2005 Florida state playoffs.
“Tim’s athletic ability, his work ethic, his leadership and his competitiveness were evident in football and will show in baseball. Knowing Tim’s passion and desire, we won’t be surprised by anything he accomplishes,” Tebow’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, told the media.
Sexton also reports that Tebow is working with CAA baseball agent Brodie Van Wagenen in his hunt for a spot in pro ball.
Tebow is inviting representatives of all 30 teams to his workout session scheduled at the end of the month.
Some scoff at the effort with one major league scout telling ESPN that “nobody can overcome” abandoning the game for a decade and then getting his groove back to compete at the level of the pros.
For his part, Brodie Van Wagenen says it is no pipe dream.
“This may sound like a publicity stunt, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Wagenen insisted. “I have seen Tim’s workouts, and people inside and outside the industry – scouts, executives, players and fans – will be impressed by his talent.”
Others tend to agree that it is certainly possible for Tebow to make the switch to baseball.
Former major league catcher Chad Moeller has also been helping Tebow train and he claims the Heisman Trophy-winner “has the skill set and potential to achieve his goal of playing in the major leagues.”
Moeller isn’t alone:
I spent time w @TimTebow in the cages recently, he’s a NATURAL. I absolutley believe in his ability to play in the bigs. Tim has IT #focused
— Gary Sheffield (@garysheffield) August 9, 2016
In fact, according to USA Today, an Los Angeles Angels scout says he tried to draft Tebow back in 2005.
“We wanted to draft him, but he never sent back his information card,” scout Tom Kotchman said. “Who knows if it got to him, and if it did we just never got it back. Otherwise we were going to take him.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.