It's official... Tim Tebow is the most popular active baseball player
Wow. If this isn’t a testament to Tim Tebow’s popularity, nothing is.
Imagine a struggling 30-year old Double-A baseball prospect who has yet to take a single at-bat in the majors. Now imagine that same prospect being the most popular player in all of professional baseball.
It could only be Tim Tebow.
According to data harvested by ESPN’s Fan & Media Intelligence group, Tebow is officially the most popular active player in baseball.
According to data obtained by ESPN’s Fan & Media Intelligence group, Tim Tebow is the most-popular active baseball player.
— Paul Hembekides (Hembo) (@PaulHembo) March 28, 2018
The news was revealed Friday on ESPN’s new “Get Up!” morning show. Paul Hembekides, the show’s researcher, relayed the stunning information to co-hosts Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle and Jalen Rose.
Tim Tebow is the face of baseball, according to an ESPN poll https://t.co/WsF14UonZR
— Jason Hall (@JasonHall__) April 13, 2018
Many were quick to point out Beadle’s less-than-enthused expression upon learning the news.
When Hembo said Tim Tebow was the most popular active baseball player … pic.twitter.com/mm8JRpo56N
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 13, 2018
Beadle represented many baseball fans online who were not too thrilled with the voting.
Yes, Tebow is a fantastic human being who’s always doing good for others, and has no problem wearing his strong Christian faith on his sleeve. That should absolutely be celebrated in the sports world. However, Tebow is still a 30-year old baseball prospect who’s struggling at the Double-A level.
So Beadle can be upset all she wants, as are many baseball “purists” online, but Beadle and those purists need to place their ire with MLB, not Tebow or his fans.
Tebow’s overwhelming popularity actually reflects poorly on MLB as a whole. The fact that a struggling prospect is more popular than Aaron Judge or Mike Trout is an indictment against baseball’s ability to create stars at the same pace that the NFL and NBA do.
This also shouldn’t diminish what the voting means for Tebow. Did Tebow’s professional sports career peak when his Florida Gators won the national championship in the 2008 college football season? Perhaps. But all the other good Tebow has done, such as the spectacular work he does through the Tim Tebow Foundation and other charities, is what truly makes him so popular. That well-deserved popularity buoys Tebow wherever he goes and is immune to whatever he’s actually doing on the field.
In fairness to Tebow, he seems to have adjusted to his new surroundings and has actually been on a three-game hit streak for the Rumble Ponies. In other words, he’s just 27 games away from tying the minor league baseball record.
The Rumble Ponies will play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Monday after Sunday’s game against the Portland Sea Dogs was postponed due to inclement weather.
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