Spring training for Major League Baseball doesn't begin for nearly a month yet, but for Tim Tebow detractors it's game on. Today the New York Mets announced that the outfielder will start spring training in their major league camp. A canvassing of news reports shows the liberally biased news media aren't wasting any time throwing literary "brush-back pitches" at the man the Left loves to hate.
USA Today's Gabe Lacques took a couple cheap shots at Tebow by comparing him to Don Quixote, as if his baseball career is a matter of tilting at windmills:
"The telegenic former Heisman Trophy winner will once again be the most scrutinized player in camp as his quixotic bid to forge a career in baseball resumes.
"In 2017, he was added frequently to the major league roster and – after going to the wrong on-deck circle before his first at-bat – did not embarrass himself often in nine Grapefruit League games, starting 0 for 9 before pushing his average as high as .235 and getting hits off reputable major league pitchers such as St. Louis’ Michael Wacha. He finished with a .148 spring average (4 for 27) with eight strikeouts."
R.J. Anderson, of CBS Sports, said it's been a quiet offseason for Tebow, which ...
"... should help (if only a little) remove the sideshow veneer from his attempt at a baseball career. ... As such, there's no real downside to bringing him to the big-league side during the spring and seeing what happens. In three months' time, nobody will remember or care."
Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News, called Tebow a "controversial" outfielder, and "That means the Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback will spend his spring in the big-league clubhouse and play in the games with the major-league players." As if Tebow is some sort of pariah who should not be allowed in that hallowed clubhouse of major leaguers.
Dan Crawford, writer for the Busted Coverage blog, joined the chorus from a sarcastic angle, saying it slipped his mind that Tebow is the same guy who was mashing home runs and making Gold Glove-caliber plays in left field last season:
"It seems to me that the Mets aren’t here to play games. They’re all in on TebowMania. You can call it a PR stunt or call it a way to sell more tickets, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not like Mets management is out here to win games. Even if he stinks, bring him on up. He got his year in the minors, now it’s time for big boy baseball. We’re going to need this in the dog days of summer.
"I’ll just say this, it will be a major disappointment if we don’t see him trotting out to left at Citi Field by the All-Star break."
Yahoo! Sports' Darin Gantt wrote, "The Mets aren’t backing down from the Tim Tebow experiment/publicity stunt," but did add he "was a good teammate and the kind of citizen other people want to be around." Yahoo! Sports' Liz Roscher wrote the Mets may not cut him too quickly because he draws fans and they "probably want to get their slice of the 'Tebow effect' pie, too."
In truth, their dismissal is kind, considering the bile they spat at Tebow when he was a Gator and then trying to fit in the NFL. Liberal sports writers unabashedly wanted him to fail and accused him of "Christian Imperialism." Major League Baseball is almost impossibly hard to play, and Tebow's chances for a career are pretty slim. Maybe that's why sports hacks have toned down their ire -- he's not much of a threat any more.
