Tim Tebow shouldn't be an All-Star, but he's getting major support from Triple-A fans
There are two schools of thought when it comes to All-Star Games. One segment of fans just wants to see stars and don't particularly care about the stats. The other segment of fans cares far less about star power and only wants to see players who have earned their spots with exceptional play.
In minor league baseball, we might as well just rename this the Tim Tebow debate.
The former Heisman Trophy winner and current New York Mets minor leaguer has star power in spades, but has produced very little for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets this season. Yet, as Syracuse.com reported on Thursday, Tebow is the only player from his team to appear among the league's leading vote-getters for the Triple-A All-Star Game.
While Tebow is not actually leading — he's currently seventh among International League outfielders — his vote total suggests the "star power" of a player who with any other name and reputation likely would have been demoted or released.
Why Tim Tebow doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star
This isn’t a Tim Tebow hit piece by any stretch.
The problem is, Tebow has taken giant steps back from 2018, when he was curiously named to the Double-A All-Star Game.
He enters the weekend batting a lousy .155 through 46 games. He's also hit only one home run and driven in just 14 runs.
It’s impossible to justify giving him playing time at this point, let alone justifying giving him an All-Star vote. But thousands of fans are doing just that. And hey, we respect their right to do so, but we can't help but wonder if the line between star power and being deserving is threatening to be crossed here.
Why Tim Tebow won't be an All-Star
Try as they might, the voting system in the minor leagues doesn’t give the fans enough power to pull it off.
Fan voting covers just 33 percent of the players’ total in deciding who will be starters. The media gets another 33 percent, and the Triple-A field and general managers make up the other 33 percent.
Even if Tebow surges in the fan voting before the June 21 deadline, he faces an uphill battle to gain support from the other groups. His odds of being named a reserve are even smaller.
Could Tim Tebow still get an MLB call-up?
It’s possible, but that too is looking like an uphill battle.
There was plenty of optimism coming off his strong 2018 season. Even new Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen gave him an endorsement, suggesting Tebow was just an injury away from being called up.
The Mets have had several outfield injuries since, but no Tebow.
If Tebow’s performance improves moving forward, the Mets would definitely reconsider. But the soon-to-be 32-year-old might be running out of time to make his MLB dream a reality.
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