Tim Tebow’s dream of making it to the big leagues has come to an end.
For the fifth straight season, the former football star was invited to join the New York Mets‘ spring training roster in 2021. Before he could accept, Tebow, 33, announced his retirement on Wednesday night.
“I want to thank the Mets, Mr. Alderson, the fans and all my teammates for the chance to be a part of such a great organization,” Tebow said in a statement. “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”
As such a prominent figure in the world of sports, this news caused quite the stir on social media.
While some poked fun at his failed career, others applauded his valiant efforts.
ESPN’s obsession with Tebow made him an easy punchline. Speaking only for me: I admired Tebow going after his baseball dreams. In hindsight, Michael Jordan’s baseball attempt was incredible — and plenty shit on it at the time. Yes, MJ had more MLB potential but respect this. https://t.co/Q67cxMUTSR
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) February 18, 2021
The Mets’ motivation for having Tebow around was always about business more than anything else, but kudos to him for sticking with it as long as he did. His 2018 season in Double-A wasn’t terrible, which is quite an accomplishment under the circumstances.https://t.co/22KJYuxLZ2
— D.J. Short (@djshort) February 18, 2021
This is kind of sad, the guy genuinely wanted to make the big leagues and was in this for the long haul. putting in the work/hours to get there.
covering him, I expected his kindness to be an act, and it was anything but – the guy is legitimately that nice. kind of wild. https://t.co/DGMAiAVqmb
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) February 18, 2021
Would have loved to have seen him crush a big league walk-off. Props for the effort 👏🏻 https://t.co/ppFD4wZHLB
— Mark Wilson FOX13 (@MarkWilsonTV) February 18, 2021
A friend just sent me the text “Tim Tebow is retiring” and my genuine response was “from what?” https://t.co/r10UBTZHnR
— Amanda Mull (@amandamull) February 18, 2021
But I understand he just bought some hockey skates. https://t.co/qDmOUOrH2x
— 𝕵𝖔𝖍𝖓 𝕭. (@JohnnyBSkol) February 18, 2021
Didn’t know Tim Tebow was still playing professional baseball. https://t.co/pZa6iZTGig
— Hugh Kellenberger (@KellenbergerCBB) February 18, 2021
Signing with the Mets Single-A Minor League affiliate back in 2016, Tebow hit a home run on his first official at bat. The outfielder strung together some more solid moments through his career in the Minors, even working his way up to the Triple-A level in 2019. Unfortunately, that season was cut short by injury and the 2020 Minor league season was canceled due to COVID-19.
While the Heisman Trophy winner may not be remembered for his time on the diamond, the commitment to his MLB dream is certainly something to be proud of.
The post Sports World Reacts To Tim Tebow’s Baseball Decision appeared first on The Spun.
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