PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (KMOX) - Tim Tebow emerged from the weight room with a smile, clutching a protein drink after a postgame workout and ready to talk about his new favorite game. The 6-3, 245-pound former Heisman Trophy winner looked me right the eye, as cordial as someone welcoming you into their home.
"Hi, how are you?" Tebow said, extending his hand for a firm shake. "Should we sit down here, at this table?" He motioned to two chairs near his locker inside the Mets clubhouse.
Tebow had just completed a successful game against the St. Louis Cardinals at First Data Field: two plate appearances, a walk and a hit. Played left field.
He also learned a few things, like when he was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice, trying to score from second base on a ball that glanced off Cards third baseman Max Schrock's glove. Kolten Wong picked it up and rifled a throw home to get Tebow, tagged out by catcher Matt Wieters.
It's the first thing we talk about. Tebow laughs, then breaks into analysis.
"That was close, I was trying to get around him (Wieters) there," Tebow said. "Close play. I thought I made a good dive around the edge to try to get the corner of plate. You can't run over (someone) in this game, so I tried to go around him."
So many layers of the game fascinate Tebow, a two-time national champion as a quarterback at Florida and a playoff winner in the NFL.
"It's not something (where) you can just will it to be done," Tebow says of baseball. "Certain sports, you can enforce your will a little bit more and impose your will a little bit more. Baseball is just not that way. You've really got to work."
Tebow, after this particular game, boosted his average to .267 in Grapefruit League play. Acceptable. But also a failure 73.3% of the time.
"Never accept failure," Tebow acknowledged, "but understand how to deal with it and how to process it. And how to try to minimize it."
Since our conversation, Tebow's chase to own a spot in the big leagues has taken a minor turn. He has been reassigned to Triple-A, with an opportunity to appear in a few more Grapefruit League games before the major and minor league camps go their separate ways. Tebow will begin the season in Syracuse (AAA).
Will we see him back in September in New York, when the rosters are expanded? Don't count him out.
Here's five minutes with Tebow, who explains why he loves the game (he says he rarely gets that question) and what he knows about the St. Louis Cardinals:
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