Watch: Tebow launches his most important blast of the season as Binghamton squeaks out a win
It turns out this Tim Tebow kid might me be able to play baseball after all.
For the third time in his last 11 games, Tebow hit a home run. And this time it was a big one.
With his Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies trailing the Erie SeaWolves 5-2 in the sixth inning, the former Heisman Trophy winner came up with two men on and connected on a fastball from Erie reliever Jeff Thompson. The blast easily cleared the right-center field wall and the game was tied 5-5.
“That’s exactly what we want to see,” Rumble Ponies manager Luis Rojas said of Tebow’s home run after the game, according to the Binghamton Press Connects.
“He’s a workaholic, he really works hard at it. He’s really tough on himself. He’s catching up and at this level he’s going to face tough pitching. Right now, he’s making the adjustment to be on time,” Rojas added.
In the seventh inning, a single from Binghamton’s Kevin Taylor drove in the game’s go-ahead run. The 6-5 win was the the Rumble Ponies’ fourth in a row, and it pushed their record over .500 to 18-17.
For Tebow, the clutch home run is another feather in his cap as he continues what has been a very productive month of May.
A slow start in April saw Tebow post a .226 batting average with just one home run. But ever since the calendar turned to May, it’s been a completely different story.
In 13 May games, Tebow is batting .310, which brings his season average to a respectable .260. His three May home runs have helped him record an extremely impressive OPS of 1.002 for the month and .794 for the season.
The most important Tebow thing has done so far is show that he belongs. Contrary to what many of his critics have said, he’s not just getting by on his marketability.
His batting average is fifth-best among Rumble Ponies players with at least 20 at-bats, while his OPS and home run total clock in at fourth. Tebow very clearly deserves his spot in the Rumble Ponies lineup and anyone who says he doesn’t is simply ignoring the numbers.
Still, there is one glaring issue with Tebow’s game that sticks out like a sore thumb: his strikeout percentage. Tebow’s 49 strikeouts in 105 at-bats are troubling.
MLB sluggers like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have shown that it is possible to be elite while striking out a lot, but their strikeout rates are well below Tebow’s.
Tebow still has a lot of improving to do before he could have a shot at reaching the majors, but his current upward trajectory is exactly what you want to see for a player just beginning his second season of high-level baseball.
The next step in the ladder is the Mets’ AAA affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s.
If Tebow keeps up his current pace, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him there by the summer.
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