Tim Tebow had a great night in Scottsdale, Arizona on Monday.
The former NFL quarterback, batting just .146, delivered the game-winning hit with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was an opposite-field, walk-off single that lifted the Scottsdale Scorpions to a 4-3 victory over the Mesa Solar Sox.
Tebow’s teammates raced out of the dugout to mob the former quarterback in celebration.
“It feels good,’’ Tebow said with a huge grin. “It feels good just to be with these guys, having fun with them.’’
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Tebow– who signed with the New York Mets’ minor league team earlier this year– credited an MLB legend for giving him some wise words of advice before the game, however: Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.
Jackson was in town talking to Yankees prospects on Tebow’s team, but he took some time to meet with Tebow as well.
“The whole day they had been throwing me outside fastballs and they had the shift on a little bit, and Mr. Jackson was just talking about letting it get deep and going with it,” Tebow said. “So first pitch tried to let it get deep and hit it opposite way, especially when they play you for a pull.”
Tebow, who helped lead the University of Florida to two national football championships, said other high-stakes moments prepared him for that crucial moment in the bottom of the ninth on Monday night.
“You just have to handle whatever it is,’’ he said. “If it’s getting up and speaking in front of 20,000, if it’s playing football in front of 100,000. You know, bases loaded, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, your body just knows it’s stress and pressure, and how are you going to handle that mentally?
“And I think all of the games and the ups and the downs, all of it, help prepare you for pressure-packed stressful moments … This was a fun moment for all of us.’’
Tebow previously hit a home run in his first pro at-bat in Mets instructional camp, but the competition in the Arizona Fall League is far bigger than that, which makes this the biggest hit of his career thus far.
PEORIA, AZ – OCTOBER 13: Tim Tebow #15 (New York Mets) of the Scottsdale Scorpions warms up on deck during the Arizona Fall League game against the Peoria Javelinas at Peoria Stadium on October 13, 2016 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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