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Tim Tebow hits walk-off single after getting advice from MLB legend

Mike Oz

Tim Tebow now has the best moment in his young baseball career with the New York Mets — and it came hours after getting pointers from one of MLB’s most famous clutch hitters.

Tebow knocked in the game-winning run in Monday night’s Arizona Fall League game between his Scottsdale Scorpions and the Mesa Solar Sox. It was an opposite-field, walk-off single, coming with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The Scorpions won 4-3.

Afterward, Tebow told the New York Daily News’ Mark Feinsand:

“It feels good,” Tebow said. “It feels good just to be with these guys and having fun with them and have a come from behind win. We’ve given up a few of these this year so it feels good to get one. Those are the situations you love; I mean, that’s fun. A lot of pressure but they’re fun moments.”

Tebow gave a bit of credit to Reggie Jackson, the MLB Hall of Famer whose reputation as Mr. October was built because of postseason homers. Jackson was in town talking to Yankees prospects on Tebow’s team, but he took some time to meet with Tebow as well. His advice resonated, per the Daily News:

“The whole day they had been throwing me outside fastballs and they had the shift on a little bit, and Mr. Jackson was just talking about letting it get deep and going with it,” Tebow said. “So first pitch tried to let it get deep and hit it opposite way, especially when they play you for a pull.”

Tim Tebow got his first career walk-off hit on Monday night. (AP)
Tim Tebow got his first career walk-off hit on Monday night. (AP)

Tebow’s attempt at baseball has had its up and downs — mostly downs lately. But this walk-off single came against a Triple-A pitcher in the Miami Marlins system. The Arizona Fall League is made up of higher-profile prospects than Tebow, many of them in Double-A and Triple-A, so it’s not surprising that he’s struggled at the plate, considering he hadn’t played organized baseball since high school.

Tebow is now hitting .146 after his walk-off winner — that’s 6-for-41 — with two RBIs. He famously hit a home run in his first pro at-bat in Mets instructional camp, but the competition in the Arizona Fall League is far superior to that, making this the biggest hit of Tebow’s career.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!