New York Mets prospect Tim Tebow is taking his talents to the World Baseball Classic.
Tebow, 32, will represent Team Philippines during the WBC qualifying round, the tournament announced on Wednesday. The qualifiers are set to take place in Arizona next month, with Tebow and Team Philippines slated to take part in the second pool of teams from March 20-25.
Tebow spent the majority of his childhood in Florida, but was born in the Philippines, where his parents served as Baptist missionaries. He moved to the United States when he was three years old. Tebow said he was invited to play for the team, which he ran past Mets manager Luis Rojas and general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.
"They were super supportive," Tebow told reporters. "They thought it was a cool thing. I did too. I'm kind of excited about it. I think it's cool. I've just got such a heart for the Philippines, too. To be able to represent them, the place I was born and spend a lot of time ... just really had a love for the people for a long time. To be able to represent them would be really cool — really, really cool."
Don't wanna alarm anyone but... TIM TEBOW HAS GONE YARD(via @_jonvasquez)pic.twitter.com/KYOvFYu9oW
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) February 25, 2020The latest installment of the tournament expanded to 20 teams compared to 16 in previous years. Philippines has yet to reach the World Baseball Classic. It fell in the qualifying round in 2013 and 2016. The official tournament will begin next March. Venues for the games include Marlins Park in Florida and Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tebow spent the 2019 season in Triple-A Syracuse, where he batted .163 and tallied 19 RBIs in 77 games. The outfielder was one of the Mets' non-roster invitees to spring training this year. He notched his first home run in the Mets' exhibition loss to Detroit on Tuesday.
"I feel like I am seeing the ball pretty well besides my first at-bat of the spring when I was super-aggressive," Tebow told the New York Post's Mike Puma after the game. "After that I feel like I have been seeing it, three walks, so trying to see more pitches and the home run today, really had a chance to work that count and try to see some too. I am just trying to improve a little bit every day."
