Tim Tebow Retiring From Professional Baseball: ‘I Feel Called In Other Directions’

 

Tim Tebow is retiring from professional baseball after playing more than four years in the New York Mets system.

The Mets and Tebow, a former NFL quarterback, announced his retirement from baseball on Wednesday. Tebow said in a statement that he felt “called in other directions,” but declined to specify what he may be picking up or investing more of his time in post-pro baseball.“I want to thank the Mets, [Mets team President Sandy Alderson], the fans and all my teammates for the chance to be a part of such a great organization,” Tebow said. “I loved every minute of the journey, but at this time I feel called in other directions. I never want to be partially in on anything. I always want to be 100 percent in on whatever I choose. Thank you again for everyone’s support of this awesome journey in baseball, I’ll always cherish my time as a Met. #LGM”

Alderson also put out a statement, praising Tebow’s work and saying that the 33-year-old now-retired athlete should “be very proud of his accomplishments.”

“It has been a pleasure to have Tim in our organization as he’s been a consummate professional during his four years with the Mets,” Mets team President Sandy Alderson said in a statement. “By reaching the Triple-A level in 2019, he far exceeded expectations when he first entered the system in 2016 and he should be very proud of his accomplishments.”

Tebow played three seasons of professional baseball starting in 2016. That year was the first time Tebow had played in organized baseball since his junior year of high school. Tebow and the rest of the minor league lost the 2020 season due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Mets summed up Tebow’s baseball career in a blog post:

Tebow, 33, signed with the Mets on September 8, 2016 and participated in the Mets’ instructional league in Port St. Lucie that fall. He hit a home run in his first at-bat in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on September 28, 2016. In his first professional season, he split the year between Columbia (A) and St. Lucie (A). He homered in his first professional at-bat while playing for the Columbia Fireflies.

In 2018, Tebow again went deep in his first at-bat of the season, this time as a member of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (AA). That summer, he was named to the Eastern League All-Star team and represented the East squad as the designated hitter. In 2019, his final professional season, he appeared in 77 games for the Syracuse Mets (AAA) before a laceration on his left hand ended his season.

In three professional seasons, Tebow batted .223/.299/.338 with 107 runs scored, 48 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, 107 RBI and five stolen bases in 287 games.

Tebow has a number of ventures taking up his time outside of baseball. During the offseason, the former Heisman Trophy winner works as a college football analyst for the SEC Network.

Tebow, an outspoken Christian, also serves as chairman on his nonprofit, the Tim Tebow Foundation. The foundation performs a number of charitable services centered around spreading the Christian faith.

According to the website:

The Christian faith is about loving Jesus and loving people, and that is what we are trying to do with this foundation and all of our outreaches. Whether it is spending a weekend encouraging a child with a life threatening illness through a W15H, helping a family adopt an international child with special needs, crowning kings and queens of the prom, or by showing God’s love through our four other outreaches, our goal is to let people know that God loves them and that they are worthy.


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