Tim Tebow’s time in the Arizona Fall League has finished, and the reviews are not good.
Several anonymous scouts had very few positives to offer about Tebow’s performance, in which he went 12-for-62 with eight walks and 20 strikeouts – a .194 average.
“Awful,” was all one AL scout had to say, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post. An NL scout concurred, offering just “stinks.”
“Ugly,” offered one executive. “In the field and at the plate, nothing looks natural.”
Tebow’s numbers did improve slightly later in the AFL season, with eight of his twelve hits coming in his final 30 at bats. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson managed to come up with at least some praise.
“I haven’t heard anyone ripping him for impersonating a baseball player lately, so it’s good he ended on a positive note,” Alderson said.
One AL executive did have some kind words for Tebow, though it was conceded that he’s unlikely to make it anywhere.
“He’s not an embarrassment by any means,” the executive said. “And he’s a tremendous influence on his teammates, which is worth something.
“The deck is stacked against him because of his age. He has phenomenal makeup and he has some power, but his swing is thick and he’s a below average defender.”
Most of the scouts and talent evaluators that have observed Tebow have had nothing kind to say about his on-field skills. It remains to be seen where Tebow’s baseball career goes from here, but it sounds like the truth is what we knew all along: he doesn’t really have a big league future.
