Tebow circus

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by packs

Adam Greenberg was a professional baseball player who did have a major league at bat, which he earned. He was hit in the head. He has nothing in common with Tebow. His second at bat was an act of good will which, again, is not at all similar or related to Tebow. Michael Jordan should not have been given a roster spot either and he played at a much higher level than Tebow will. I think it helped that Jordan was a successful athlete though in terms of public perception, which is what we're talking about.

Tebow was also a successful athlete and considered one of the greatest college football players of all time.

Wrong on greenberg..he had a prior plate appearence but not an at bat.. He got one at bat in 2012 and had ZERO games in the minors that year and was not in the Marlin minor league system He ended up getting a total of 30 games in 2013 for independent league for Bridgeport and hit .220 which was the rest of his entire career. You are fine with greenberg playing in a real game in which he wasnt even a part of the marlin organization, but against Tebow for spring training game for which is in an active member of the minor league team?

He did not earn the at bat years after that plate appearance. His second at bat was an act of good will and you are fine with that? So if good will is now a part of it, why cant Tebow and many others get Good will?

I would argue Tebow playing baseball is at least an act of good will (which you seem ok with )and at least he is just playing spring training. Greenberg took a major league regular season at bat away from a major leaguer and he struck out on 3 pitches and out of baseball completely shortly there after. Yeah you are ok with Greenberg playing in a major league game but against Tebow in a spring training game. I dont think thats a consistent point of view. There are a lot of good will/charity cases of players i can name that have just as much of a right to play as adam greenberg.

[packs]

There is a major difference between a guy who earned his way to the majors and had a tragic occurrence that was rectified years later and a guy who washed out of the NFL and is on a minor league team because of his celebrity. They have nothing in common and as I said we are talking about public perception. This thread is about why people don't like Tebow. I think I've laid out some good reasons as to why the public sees him in a negative light.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by packs

There is a major difference between a guy who earned his way to the majors and had a tragic occurrence that was rectified years later and a guy who washed out of the NFL and is on a minor league team because of his celebrity. They have nothing in common and as I said we are talking about public perception. This thread is about why people don't like Tebow. I think I've laid out some good reasons as to why the public sees him in a negative light.

So if you played in the majors and have a tragic occurrence you deserve the chance many years later to play in the major leagues even if at the time of the call up you you are not even good enough to play independent ball and are older (31) than Tebow is now (29)

I think theres a lot in common. There are many that see Tebow in a negative light but there are many that see Tebow in a positive light and want good will which you are ok with. Tebow is very popular in Florida and that is where the spring training games are. I also think Tebow at this point in time is better than Adam Greenberg was in 2012 and at least he is part of the parent clubs organization.

[packs]

You're a Tebow fan. That's totally fine. The premise of this thread was why some people aren't Tebow fans. I am expressing why I think people aren't Tebow fans. I don't think Adam Greenberg plays a role in people's opinion on Tebow.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by packs

You're a Tebow fan. That's totally fine. The premise of this thread was why some people aren't Tebow fans. I am expressing why I think people aren't Tebow fans. I don't think Adam Greenberg plays a role in people's opinion on Tebow.

Im not a Tebow fan. It appears you are a Adam Greenberg fan. I do think Adam Greenberg is an issue that is brought up in a general discussion about 'what players shouldnt be paying in spring training or regular season games'

YOu cant say a guy doesnt belong in a spring training game and say that never happens when you have a guy like greenberg playing in a major league real game. There are many other arguments as well with other players.

If you are saying that people shouldnt play in spring training games because people dont like them and not commenting about their actual ability, then the comparisons dont matter but i think ability is part of the equation here.

[packs]

I'm not talking about spring training games at all. I'm talking about Tebow getting the chance to play for a minor league team. He's not just playing in spring training. He will be joining a roster after spring training and will appear in minor league games just as he appeared in the AFL, where he batted 173 and struck out 33 times in 33 games.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by packs

I'm not talking about spring training games at all. I'm talking about Tebow getting the chance to play for a minor league team. He's not just playing in spring training. He will be joining a roster after spring training and will appear in minor league games just as he appeared in the AFL, where he batted 173 and struck out 33 times in 33 games.

He could suck but not sure why citing stats for a 33 game sample size for a guy out of baseball for 10 years. Michael Jordan was horrid as well early on but did improve but he still had no business being in the minors and he was 31 not 29. Michael hit .202 and had 114 ks in 127 games which is 4x the sample size.

[Snapolit1]

Lee Mazzilli's son was in the same starting lineup yesterday as Tebow. A fringe minor league moved up for the day to play a spring training game. Is going absolutely nowhere in the bigs. I must have missed all the articles about how Mets promote son of a successful alum to play in highly important split squad game.

[tjenkins]

I here so much negative about him playing baseball. I so wish he would make it!

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Arizona fall league is for real prospects. He absolutely took the spot from someone who could've actually advanced their career to play out a farce. .469 OPS in 123 plate appearances. Sometimes a small sample is all you need.

As for Jordan? well that was a joke too, and a worse one as he took up a double A roster spot.

However, I don't really care how teams waste their money and minor league developmental process, as long as that team isn't the Dodgers!

[steve B]

Tebow wasn't the worst hitter on his team, close, but not the worst.

I don't hear many complaints about Matt Oberste taking anyones roster spot. (The guy with a decent number of games who was a worse hitter than Tebow. There's another, but he only played 5 games. )

Besides, the very lowest levels are instructional leagues, where players are meant to learn and to make important adjustments. Being a strong straight pull hitter will go a long way in HS, not so much in even the high minors unless you're truly amazing in other ways. So a lot of players don't do all that well in instructional leagues because they're trying stuff they haven't been required to do until then.

Steve B

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by steve B

Tebow wasn't the worst hitter on his team, close, but not the worst.

I don't hear many complaints about Matt Oberste taking anyones roster spot. (The guy with a decent number of games who was a worse hitter than Tebow. There's another, but he only played 5 games. )

Besides, the very lowest levels are instructional leagues, where players are meant to learn and to make important adjustments. Being a strong straight pull hitter will go a long way in HS, not so much in even the high minors unless you're truly amazing in other ways. So a lot of players don't do all that well in instructional leagues because they're trying stuff they haven't been required to do until then.

Steve B

Arizona Fall League is not an instructional league for low-level players. It is a league where teams typically send 6 top prospects apiece. Most players are successful double or triple A guys.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Arizona Fall League is not an instructional league for low-level players. It is a league where teams typically send 6 top prospects apiece. Most players are successful double or triple A guys.

Well, I guess I learned something there. I thought it was one of the short season A ball leagues like we have here in Lowell.

That makes it a bit more of a puzzle why he's there, and less of one why so many of the hitters seemed above average from the stats.
Of course the opposite also fits, he had little experience and considering that he didn't do all that badly against some decent but not yet ML level pitchers.
Maybe they fast tracked him as a sink or swim scenario because of his age?

Steve B

[clydepepper]

Anyone who has played Baseball with loved doing so, always wants more.

To have an opportunity to compete at the highest level, warranted or not, is a dream anyone who is honest with themselves would love to experience in real life.

I have not played in more than 15 years, and, even though the last few games proved without a doubt that I could no longer be competitive, it crushed me to have that connection to my past come to an end.

There remains an urge in me, to jump (nope, can't even do that) onto the field at whatever game (at whatever talent level) I attend and have that opportunity one last time.


And this is from someone who had as definite closure to that part of my life as there could be.

The desire, however, remains...and I do not criticize ANYONE for pursuing the same.

Tim Tebow deserves the opportunity- in doing so with his normal enthusiasm and conviction, he does nothing but honor the game and its connection to all of us who once had it as a very important part of our physical existence.

I wish him all the best!

[egri]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Anyone who has played Baseball with loved doing so, always wants more.

To have an opportunity to compete at the highest level, warranted or not, is a dream anyone who is honest with themselves would love to experience in real life.

I have not played in more than 15 years, and, even though the last few games proved without a doubt that I could no longer be competitive, it crushed me to have that connection to my past come to an end.

There remains an urge in me, to jump (nope, can't even do that) onto the field at whatever game (at whatever talent level) I attend and have that opportunity one last time.


And this is from someone who had as definite closure to that part of my life as there could be.

The desire, however, remains...and I do not criticize ANYONE for pursuing the same.

Tim Tebow deserves the opportunity- in doing so with his normal enthusiasm and conviction, he does nothing but honor the game and its connection to all of us who once had it as a very important part of our physical existence.

I wish him all the best!

+1. Well said, Raymond.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Anyone who has played Baseball with loved doing so, always wants more.

To have an opportunity to compete at the highest level, warranted or not, is a dream anyone who is honest with themselves would love to experience in real life.

I have not played in more than 15 years, and, even though the last few games proved without a doubt that I could no longer be competitive, it crushed me to have that connection to my past come to an end.

There remains an urge in me, to jump (nope, can't even do that) onto the field at whatever game (at whatever talent level) I attend and have that opportunity one last time.


And this is from someone who had as definite closure to that part of my life as there could be.

The desire, however, remains...and I do not criticize ANYONE for pursuing the same.

Tim Tebow deserves the opportunity- in doing so with his normal enthusiasm and conviction, he does nothing but honor the game and its connection to all of us who once had it as a very important part of our physical existence.

I wish him all the best!

While I can appreciate this sentiment, it is precisely the reason this whole thing would bug me if it was my team that was doing this. Tebow is chasing that elusive dream, giving it one last shot as expressed in your post. But by doing that he is negatively impacting someone who has a much more reasonable chance of making it who has the same passion.

[packs]

He is not even chasing a dream though. His dream was to play in the NFL. He stopped playing baseball as a junior in high school. I think that is another thing that distances his experience from Michael Jordan's. Jordan didn't opt for baseball because he failed as an NBA player and he didn't need baseball to prolong what he thought would be a professional sports career.

[JTysver]

Not a giant Tebow fan. I don't believe he is humble in that he openly flaunts his humility. I'm a die hard Mets fan.
He was not a good NFL QB. He had the opportunity to be a tight end and dismissed that.
All that being said, I don't see where the Mets getting a strong "character guy" is a stretch or a bad move. There is nothing to lose by having him playing in low-A ball for them. He will be surrounded by 18-21 year olds who can use a solid and upright accomplished athlete to set an example for them. He was signed for that reason mainly.
If, by chance, he excels to any degree, then that is all gravy.