Report: Pitcher Says He 'Grooved' Fastballs For Tim Tebow's Showcase
By Ryan Mayer
The baseball career of former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow started last August with his showcase for scouts out in Los Angeles.
That day, Tebow took cuts off of former major league pitchers David Aardsma and Chad Smith in an attempt to show off his ability to hit highest-level pitching. The Mets came away impressed enough to sign Tebow to a minor league contract and he remains in the team's system today.
Well, according to a report from MMQB.com, the showcase that Tebow took part in may have been tilted in his favor. In the story, Tim Rohan details that Smith is a big fan of Tebow and hoped to help the former Heisman Trophy winner make a good impression. So, he basically told Tebow what pitches were coming.
From the story:
"Then Smith went back out, and Tebow started flashing his power, hitting line drives again. Thwack, thwack, thwack. See, maybe this was Tebow's baseball moment. Maybe this was another fourth-quarter comeback. If you saw those line drives, part of you might have started believing.
What you didn't see was Chad Smith, on his way to the mound, telling Tebow, "Be ready for some fastballs," and then grooving a few pitches right where Tebow liked them. It was the least he could do. Afterward, Smith asked Tebow to sign a few balls for his parents, too."
We probably shouldn't be surprised at a couple of grooved pitches in a showcase considering it was, well, exactly that, a showcase. Nonetheless, the story offers and interesting insight into Tebow's baseball career.
For what it's worth, Tebow has a slash line of .232/.315/.366 with a pair of homers and nine RBIs in 23 games so far with the Class A Columbia Fireflies.
