Tim Tebow set to pursue pro baseball career – USA TODAY
Tim Tebow is serious about his professional sports rebirth as a baseball player and his representatives said the former NFL quarterback’s workout for major league scouts won’t be a sideshow.
Tebow has trained for the last several months in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Los Angeles at a sport he hasn’t played regularly for more than a decade. Tebow has served an ESPN broadcaster since his three-season NFL career ended with the New York Jets at the conclusion of 2012 season.
“This may sound like a publicity stunt, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Brodie Van Wagenen, co-head of CAA Baseball, said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports and other outlets. “I have seen Tim’s 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.”
Former major league catcher Chad Moeller has trained Tebow at this baseball school in Scottsdale and said in a statement that Tebow “has the skill set and potential to achieve his goal of playing in the major leagues.”
“I am beyond impressed with Tim’s athleticism and swing and it goes without saying that he has shown a high level of discipline and strong work ethic,” Moeller said. “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.”
Tebow will hold a workout where all 30 major league teams will be invited to observe within the next month, according to a person with knowledge of the session who is not authorized to speak publicly.
Tebow hasn’t played baseball on a regular basis since 2004 as a junior in high school, where he hit .494 at Nease High in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Some scouts noticed Tebow’s baseball talents more than a decade ago.
Boston Red Sox area scout Tom Kotchman was with the Los Angeles Angels when he attempted to get Tebow to choose baseball over football.
“We wanted to draft him, but he never sent back his information card,” Kotchman told WEEI-AM. “Who knows if it got to him, and if it did we just never got it back. Otherwise we were going to take him.”
Red Sox scout Stephen Hargett told the radio station that Tebow’s decision not play baseball as a senior made it clear football was the focus. Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and two national titles at Florida.
“He had a strong arm and had a lot of power. If he would have been there his senior year he definitely would have had a good chance to be drafted,” Hargett, said “œHe had leverage to his swing. He had some natural loft. He had some good power. He was a good athlete. He had had enough arm for that position. He was a left-handed hitter with strength and some size.”