Tim Tebow retiring from professional baseball

The former NFL quarterback has announced his retirement from professional baseball on Wednesday.

After pursuit of being a starting quarterback in the NFL ended in 2015, Tim Tebow decided to give professional baseball a try. In a much publicized tryout, the New York Mets signed him to a minor-league contract in 2016, where he played as an outfielder. After three-playing seasons in the Mets’ farm system, Tebow’s journey has reached its conclusion.

On Wednesday, the Mets officially announced that Tebow is retiring from the game of baseball.

“It has been a pleasure to have Tim in our organization as he’s been a consummate professional during his four years with the Mets,” said Team President Sandy Alderson, via the Mets’ Medium.com post. “By reaching the Triple-A level in 2019, he far exceeded expectations when he first entered the system in 2016 and he should be very proud of his accomplishments.”

Tebow made his official statement through his Twitter account, where he thanked the Mets organization and to everyone for their “support of this awesome journey in baseball.”

Tebow gave it his all in Mets minor leagues

As was the case with Tebow, all eyes were on him as he tried to make the transition from the NFL to MLB. The Mets officially signed him to a deal and immediately participated in the instructional league. In his ver first at-bat, Tebow hit a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals, lighting the sports world ablaze.

In 2017, Tebow played for Single-A Columbia and St. Lucie, where he slashed .226/.309/.347 while recording eight home runs and 52 RBI across 126 games. Tebow was promoted to Double-A Binghamton the following year, and was having his best season to date. However, it would end after 84 games due to a broken hamate bone in his right hand. Tebow recorded a .273 batting average and .734 OPS along with six home runs and 36 RBI.

2019 would prove to be Tebow’s final playing year with the Mets, this time in Triple-A. Much like the previous year, Tebow’s campaign ended early. This time, it was due to a lacerated finger on his left hand. In 77 games, the outfielder slashed a brutal .163/.240/.255 line with four home runs, 19 RBI and 98 strikeouts to his credit.

The Mets still had Tebow in their plans, as they invited him to Spring Training this year. But due to being “called in other directions,” Tebow decided to walk away from the game of baseball. No matter how you felt about his journey to MLB, he still gave it his all.