by Will Cheney (associate editor), Last Word on Baseball.
When I read that the New York Mets signed Tim Tebow to a minor-league deal, I chuckled a bit. My first thought was, “this is really happening, I guess.” Aside from the mild laughter that ensued, the realization of the message that was being sent to minor league baseball players around the country began to sink in: The skills that they’ve worked their entire lives to master mean nothing so long as a famous, athletic person can look the part and sell more tickets.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood summed up what I can imagine is a common feeling around affiliated baseball with one tweet.
Food for thought. pic.twitter.com/escth3F5jk
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) September 8, 2016
“Tebow signing a minor league deal for 100k is like your boss giving his son/daughter who has a high school education & hasn’t worked in 10 years the promotion that you were supposed to get. #America,” Wood said in the tweet.
Tim Tebow Has No Place in Baseball
I had to rub my eyes several times after reading it, but the former Florida Gator’s contract does include a $100,000 signing bonus. Now that number seems microscopic when Kelly Johnson is making $1.5 million in 2016, but the signing bonus is irrelevant from the Mets’ perspective. That amount of money is a drop in the can for any big league franchise, even Brad Pitt’s Oakland Athletics.
Read More at our new site, Last Word on Baseball.
Main Photo
