We should all be in awe of what Tim Tebow did in his MLB career

What an accomplishment.

Nearly two years ago to the day, I wrote about how we should all be inspired by what Tim Tebow was doing while in the minors for the New York Mets’ organization.

And with Tebow announcing the end of his attempt to make it to the majors on Wednesday, it’s time to once again put his five-year baseball career in perspective: we should be in awe of what he did on the field.

I’m serious. Could you pick up a sport you haven’t played since high school, years after playing another sport professionally, and hit baseballs thrown by talent that was at or near a Major League level? I think not.

Yes, his fielding was … bad. Yes, he struggled with pitches that had movement. But Tim Tebow hit four home runs in Triple-A. He mashed 18 in his career. He stole five bases total and hit .223, which wouldn’t normally be impressive but HE DIDN’T PLAY BASEBALL SINCE HIGH SCHOOL!

He was never going to be more than a novelty if he was called up — remember how Chad Green (who has 285 innings of Major League experience) whiffed him with ease? Or getting a K against a position player? We likely would have seen a bunch of 0-fers.

But that’s not what this is about. This is about how much work I imagine Tebow put in to hone his craft, enough that he could occasionally hit one deep. This is about how he ignored the jokes, the attention and the critics and got this far.

What an accomplishment.