Former Cy Young winner pays Tim Tebow huge compliment for his work at the plate
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Tim Tebow show has headed north this spring, as the former Florida quarterback started the minor-league season at Double-A Binghamton in the New York Mets’ farm system.
Tebow has been progressing nicely, especially at the plate, where he has shown some impressive pop, though his average has been lacking thus far.
Still, Binghamton Rumble Ponies pitching coach Frank Viola — the 1988 AL Cy Young winner — is shocked by what Tebow has been able to do at the plate. He told PressConnects.com that Tebow being able to pick up hitting at such a high level after such a long layoff is nothing short of incredible:
“I took 10 years off from hitting from high school to when I got traded from the American League to the National League,” Viola said. “That’s like starting all over again. What he’s doing and the strides I’ve seen him make from last year to this year, that’s impressive. Kudos to the kid for working his butt off. He doesn’t have to do this, but he chose to do it and he’s working as hard as anyone, if not harder. It’s a great story but very difficult.
“There’s so much instinctual stuff from baseball that you learn as a kid all the way up. When you take a hiatus like he did, it’s hard. He’s 30 years old, but he’s still trying to learn.”
Tebow spent last year at the single-A level, splitting his time between low-A Columbia and high-A Port St. Lucie.
Whether he makes it up to triple-A this season remains to be seen, but he is making his way through the Mets’ system at a steady rate.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
