If Tim Tebow is hoping not to be a sideshow, it's too little, too late.
The quarterback caused a stir when it was revealed he was putting his pursuit of an NFL return on hold in order to chase down a baseball career. Though he hasn't played baseball since high school, where he was a standout star, Tebow is hoping to end up in Major League Baseball.
Tebow has been training and working out with former MLB catcher Chad Moeller, who spent 11 years in the MLB with the Twins, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Reds, Dodgers, Yankees and Orioles and finished his career with a .226 batting average, 29 homers and 132 RBIs.
The former Heisman Trophy winner plans on holding a workout for all 30 MLB teams soon, but Moeller said he doesn't want to be a "sideshow" act.
"Do I think [teams are] selfishly going to want to sell some seats? Yeah," Moeller told USA Today Sports. "And he knows it."
He continued: "And that's why he really hopes [and] wants a team that thinks he can do this, and not just, 'We're going to send him to every level and sell a whole bunch of seats and sell a whole bunch of merchandise and we're just going to have a sideshow.' He knows he's partially a sideshow to start with. But he does want a team that actually thinks this is for real and thinks this is someone that can help us. And he's going to have to go out and perform and show he can do this. There's no way to simulate that."
While Tebow's intentions could be good, the whole thing at least has a hint of being a publicity stunt and need for attention. It's likely he'll toil around in the minors, some extra seats will be sold and it will all be over.
Tebow had a highly-decorated college football career, which saw him win the Heisman Trophy in 2007. He also led the Gators to a BCS championship, two SEC championships and a Sugar Bowl win.
The Broncos selected Tebow 25th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft and he had a tremendous overtime playoff win over the Steelers in 2011 before being traded to the Jets. He then had stints with the Patriots and Eagles, but was cut by both clubs prior to the season starting. He was cut by Philadelphia last September, ending his latest run in the NFL.
Tebow, who turns 29 on Aug. 14, owns a 47.9 career completion percentage and has thrown for 2,422 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 35 games -- 16 of which were starts.
In baseball, Tebow hit .494 as a junior in high school to help Nease High School reach the final four of the Florida state playoffs, according to ESPN.
That sounds like quite the high school career, but all these years later, an attempt at an MLB career reads exactly like a sideshow act.
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