WATCH: Tim Tebow belts second professional home run
By: Charles Curtis| April 7, 2017 2:39 pmFollow @bycharlescurtis
We keep doubting Tim Tebow, and somehow, he keeps delivering.
One day after he hit a home run in his first minor league at-bat, we were wondering where that feat lands on a list of all the miraculous things hes done in the sports world.
Heres the answer: A ranking of his miracles over the years:
8. Being really good ontelevision
Look, hes no Hall of Famer on the air, but its okay to admit that hes much better than you thought hed be, with an ability to offer insights, hold a conversation and look relaxed.
7. Making the Florida-Ole Miss speech come true
He backed up the emotional promise he gave the world after a loss to the Rebels in 2008, winning every game after he delivered it, including the BCS Championship against Oklahoma. No wonder Florida turned the speech into a plaque outside of the Gators facility.
6. Becoming the first college sophomore to win the Heisman trophy
for 23 more in 2007 and beat Darren McFadden, Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel. Oh, and he finished third in the 2008 vote.5. Overcoming a 10-0 deficit and coming back to beat the Chicago Bears in the final 2:08 in 2011
This was also the infamous game in which Marion Barber went out of bounds instead of staying in and letting the clock run. Tebow took advantage and aided a comeback that ended with a win in overtime.
4. Convincing a Major League team to sign him to a minor league deal
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
A reminder: He hadnt played competitive baseball since high school before the New York Mets inked him.
3. Hitting a minor league home run
Id argue smacking a dinger off a minor league pitcher is actually easier than attempting to get a hit off a pitcher whos on a Major League roster (see below).
2. Getting a hit off a major league pitcher
It doesnt matter that Kyle Lobstein is the proud owner of a 5.06 ERA. Tebow got a hit off a guy whos thrown in 34 games.
1. Defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Wild Card game
Did you expect anything else?
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Denver Broncos, Lists, Miracles, New York Mets, Tim Tebow, NFL
Tim Tebow hits a home run in Minor league baseball debut!
Matt Harvey and Marcus Stroman pitched well, and the Minnesota Twins are undefeated, but let"s head to the minors to begin our roundup.
We can"t quit you, Tim Tebow.
Look, here"s all I"m going to say after Tebow cracked a home run in his first minor league at-bat for the Columbia Fireflies: I don"t get the people who get so angry about him playing for the New York Mets" low Class A South Atlantic League team. Yes, it"s essentially nothing more than a cheap marketing stunt to sell a few extra jerseys, but the suggestion that he"s costing a more-deserving player a chance at the majors is a pretty weak argument. The Mets" low-A affiliate from 2011 has seen two position players reach the majors -- Darrell Ceciliani and Wilfredo Tovar, and if you"ve heard of those two you"re a diehard"s diehard.
There"s also the argument that Tebow will end up stealing some of the spotlight from actual deserving major league players. As Jayson Stark wrote the other day, baseball is lacking a face of the sport when you consider the only three baseball players to show up in a recent poll of America"s 50 favorite athletes were Derek Jeter (retired), Babe Ruth (dead) and Pete Rose (banned).
While it would be nice if there were a LeBron of baseball, I don"t think it"s essential to the viability or even popularity of the sport. Whether fans will pay more attention to Francisco Lindor or Carlos Correa or Mike Trout or Kris Bryant has nothing to do with Tebow. Blaming the media is also a poor excuse: Fans -- maybe not you -- are interested in Tebow for reasons that I don"t fully understand, but you can"t ignore that many are interested.
As for Tebow the baseball player, no, he"s not a legitimate prospect. After that home run, he struck out three times and grounded out.
Play of the day: Maybe it was just static electricity. So this happened to Yadier Molina:
As funny as it was, it turned out to be crucial play in the St. Louis Cardinals" 6-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs, which explains why Molina wasn"t in a joking mood about it after the game. Asked if he put anything on his chest protector, Molina replied, "That"s a dumb question."
Except it wasn"t a dumb question! It was a very good and obvious question. Matt Szczur reached on the play, Jon Jay followed with a walk and then Kyle Schwarber launched the go-ahead three-run homer off Brett Cecil.
Of course, Cubs fans cried foul. No wonder Molina is so good! He"s doctoring the baseballs for his pitchers! Yes, applying a foreign substance to the ball -- which seemed to be the case here -- is certainly illegal, but it"s also one of those rules that everyone basically ignores, as long as you"re not too obvious about it, like Michael Pineda a few years ago. For example, pitchers often will put a little sunscreen on their forearm to help their grip. Hitters are OK with this, not only because their pitchers are doing the same thing, but because they don"t want pitchers throwing a slippery baseball. Read Mark Saxon"s postgame report and you can see the Cubs weren"t upset, with Schwarber even pointing out catchers often put a little pine tar on their shin guards.
Now, if the Cubs had lost the game ...
Well, we know Yasiel Puig can hit 85-mph fastballs up in the zone. OK, it was Jered Weaver pitching and Jered Weaver doesn"t exactly throw hard. Still, it"s always fun when Puig is doing something good, and maybe his second career two-homer game -- and first since 2013 -- will get him going this year after a slow start in 2016, when he had a .650 OPS through May with 42 strikeouts and just nine walks. He was criticized for not having any plan at the plate, and it showed in that strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also drew two walks on Thursday, which is maybe just as important a takeaway as the two home runs. I"m not quite ready to give up on a healthy Puig putting up numbers that will makes Dodgers fans happy.
You don"t see this every day, but you may see it again. In spring training, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen talked about his desire to be a two-way player and manager Bryan Price suggested he"d use the reliever as a pinch-hitter at times. That plan came together when Lorenzen became the first pitcher with a pinch-hit homer since Micah Owings in 2009. It was also a big home run, giving the Reds a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Lorenzen hit .250 (9-for-36) when he started 21 times as a rookie in 2015, but batted just five times last year -- his one hit was a home run.
Even if he can rake a bit, the difficulty will be finding situations in which to deploy him, since he has developed into the Reds" top setup guy. Price clearly didn"t intend to use Lorenzen on Thursday after he had pitched on Monday and Wednesday, plus there were two outs and nobody on when he batted. If a pinch-hitter were needed to lead off an inning, Price may have used a position player more likely to get on base. At the least, in these days of short benches, and especially in the National League, where you need more pinch-hitters, having a pitcher you can use off the bench is a nice weapon to have.
Mariners fans walk to edge of cliff, decide not to jump. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, the Seattle Mariners were staring at a season-opening four-game sweep to the Houston Astros, but they tied the game that inning and then won it with two runs in the ninth off Astros closer Ken Giles. That means I can"t use this factoid: Ten teams in the division era (since 1969) had started 0-4 or worse and made the playoffs, the last being the 2012 Atlanta Braves, who started 0-4. The 2011 Tampa Bay Rays started 0-6 and still won 91 games and made the playoffs. Tricked you! I used it anyway.
Tim Tebow"s playoff win: Steelers vs. Broncos 2011 Wild Card Game highlights
Tim Tebow looks to prove it is never too late for a comeback.
But Tebow is switching sports - to baseball - duringhis latest return to professional sports.
ESPN reports Tebow, who turns 29 Sunday, has been training for the past year in Arizona and California. He plans tohold a workout for 30 Major League Baseball teams.
A year ago, Tebow was in training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles, but did not make the team, effectively ending his NFL career after stints with four teams during five seasons.
He returned to his role as college football analyst at ESPN.
TheGators" legendary quarterback and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner has not played competitive baseball since he was a high school junior in 2005 at St. Augustine Nease.
The left-handed Tebow was an All-State playerand led his team to the state semifinals, but he enrolled early at UF to play football and did not play his senior season at Nease.
USA Today reports he hit .494 at a high school junior and had interest from Major League teams.
On his Twitter account, Fox Sports baseball report Ken Rosenthal released a statement from Brodie Van Wagenen, co-head of the baseball arm of CAA, the agency that represents Tebow.
"This may sound like a publicity stunt, but nothing could be further from the truth," Van Wagenen wrote. "I have seen Tims workouts, and people inside and outside the industry scouts, executives, players and fans will be impressed by his talent. As an agent, I have a genuine respect for how hard it is to succeed at the game of baseball and a true admiration for those who possess the talent to play it at the Major League level.
"Tim"s tool set is real. His physicality is unique in professional baseball. His work ethic is unprecedented, and his passion for the game is infectious. He knows the challenges that lie ahead of him given his age and experience, but he is determined to achieve his goal of playing in the Major Leagues.
Rosenthal also released a statement from Chad Moeller, a former Major League catcher who has been training Tebow at Chad Moeller Baseball in Scottsdale.
"I am beyond impressed with Tims athleticism and swing, and it goes without saying that he has shown a high level of discipline and strong work ethic," Moeller wrote. "I see bat speed and power and real baseball talent. I truly believe Tim has the skill set and potential to achieve his goal of playing in the Major Leagues, and based on what I have seen over the past two months, it could happen relatively quickly."
Email Edgar Thompson at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com. Read the Swamp Things blog at www.orlandosentinel.com/swampthings. Follow our UF coverage on Twitter @osgators.
Former NFL star Tim Tebow and the Delta Air Lines flight crew lept into action over the weekend to help a man experiencing a medical emergency.
Richard V. Gotti wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday about the in-flight medical emergency on a Phoenix-bound flight from Atlanta that he witnessed.
Gotti said that a man a few rows ahead of him began suffering what appeared to be heart problems. He said that everyone onboard the plane helped whether it was it was chest compressions, starting an IV, helping breathe life into this man, or praying
The crew of Delta Airlines were amazing. They acted in a fast and professional manner! Then all of a sudden, I observed a guy walking down the aisle, Gotti continued.
He then noticed a man starting to walk down the aisle toward the family that was in distress.
I observed a guy walking down the aisle. That guy was Tim Tebow. He met with the family as they cried on his shoulder! I watched Tim pray with the entire section of the plane for this man. He made a stand for G*d in a difficult situation, Gotti added.
He also said when the plane landed in Phoenix, the man got a pulse back. However, People Magazine reported the man later died in a hospital
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Delta Air Lines spokesman Brian Kruse confirmed that there had been a medical emergency during the flight and that paramedics were there to greet the plane to give the passenger immediate care.
We cant say enough about the Delta professionals who care for our customers every day and we are grateful to our customers who are so often quick to extend kindness and care to one another, he said.
Gottis Facebook post has been shared more than 5,000 times since his posting.
Tebow has made no mention of the incident on the plane and Delta Air Lines doesnt release information about who is onboard their flights.
A separate Instagram photo posted by Pamela Rainey shows Tebow sitting in front of her and a mention of the medical emergency that was on the flight.
