UPDATE 2-Baseball--New York Mets sign ex-NFL player Tebow

09/08/2016 13:58

* Tebow to compete in team's Instructional League

* Says goal is have career 'in the big leagues' (Adds background, quotes)

Sept 8 (Reuters) - Former National Football League quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has been signed by the New York Mets to a minor league baseball contract, the team said on Thursday.

Tebow, 29, who played in the NFL for three years before becoming a television broadcaster, recently showcased his baseball skills for scouts and the media in a bid to launch a second sports career.

The Mets said in a statement that Tebow was signed to a minor league contract and would participate in the team's Instructional League in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

An All-State baseball player in Florida in 2005, Tebow hit .494 as a high school junior, playing outfield. He helped Nease High School reach the final four of the Florida state playoffs.

Tebow did not play baseball as a high school senior or at the University of Florida, where in 2007 he won the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. college football player before leading the Gators to a national championship in the 2008 season.

He played three years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets before his football career stalled. ESPN hired him as a football analyst in late 2013.

Tebow impressed scouts recently with his power when he hit three home runs in his first round of batting practice at the University of Southern California's Dedeaux Field, including one to right-center field that landed at least 400 feet from home plate on the top level of a nearby parking garage.

Tebow blasted two more in his second round, one of them hitting the treetops above the scoreboard.

"The goal would be to have a career in the big leagues," Tebow said after the scouting showcase. "That's the goal, right? And then the pursuit of it is to give everything you have and be the best you can.

"I want to be someone that pursues what I believe in and what I'm passionate about, and a lot of people will say, 'Well, what if you fail? What if you don't make it?'

"Guess what? I don't have to live with regret. I did everything I could. I pushed it. So I would rather be someone that could live with peace and no regrets than the what-if or being scared of if I didn't make it."

Speculation will invariably begin to swirl about Tebow's chances of ever playing in Major League Baseball.

"I spent time w @TimTebow in the cages recently, he's a NATURAL. I absolutely believe in his ability to play in the bigs," tweeted Gary Sheffield, a nine-times All-Star who retired in 2009.

A first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Broncos, Tebow led them to a division title in 2011 but was traded to the Jets the following year after the team had signed Peyton Manning.

He has not made a full-time roster since, though he had training camp stints with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 and 2015.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Laila Kearney in New York; Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Andrew Both)

09/08/2016 13:58