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Former Gators baseball players rooting for Tebow
- Updated: August 29, 2016
They watched and rooted him on as he made history on the college gridiron. They watched and rooted him on as he made his mark in the NFL. They watch and root him on as he works in the community to better the lives of those around him.
And now they get to see what happens as he tries to make it in their sport, baseball.
On Tuesday in Los Angeles, former Heisman Trophy winner, two-time national-champion Florida Gators and former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will hold a showcase for Major League teams as he attempts to land a contract to begin a new career in professional baseball.
As usual with Tebow, who has been working as a broadcaster on ESPN, there are many supporters and probably just as many doubters. Ever since his agent, Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA Sports, announced Tebow’s intent to try to play pro baseball, the social media universe and skeptics have swarmed on this story. Many called it a publicity stunt.
But a handful of current and former Major Leaguers who have observed Tebow closely and from afar over the years seem to agree on three main points: that Tebow’s sincerity shouldn’t be questioned, that he faces a long, tough road to the Major Leagues, and that even despite the odds, an athlete of his caliber with a work ethic as solid as his deserves to at least be taken seriously.
Former big league shortstop David Eckstein, who won two World Series rings with the Angels in 2002 and with the Cardinals in ’06, grew up in Sanford, Fla., and played at the University of Florida. He considers himself a “diehard Gator” and was a huge Tebow fan during the quarterback’s storied college days.
Eckstein is aware that Tebow was an all-state baseball player in high school in 2005, the last time he played baseball, and he’s seen some video of his latest workouts.
“To play the position of quarterback, you have to be able to do just about everything athletically,” Eckstein said. “And I would love to see him playing baseball. The one thing you know about Tim Tebow is he’s going to give you every ounce of whatever he’s got, and that type of person, with the right …
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