Tim Tebow experience has very little to do with baseball

PORT ST. LUCIE — If Jennifer Pedrick knew Tim Tebow was going to get promoted to the St. Lucie Mets this week, she probably wouldn’t have asked her husband, Scott, to make the nearly seven-hour drive from Melbourne to Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday to watch a minor league baseball game for her birthday.

Wednesday, Pedrick and her family were back at the ballpark, this time at First Data field in Port St. Lucie to see Tebow make his St. Lucie Mets debut.

The 29-year-old Tebow went a combined 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, two singles, a walk and two RBIs as the Mets lost both games to the Palm Beach Cardinals, 5-2 and 5-3.

Tebow was the designated hitter in the first game and played left field in the nightcap. St. Lucie will host Palm Beach again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at First Data Field before heading to Fort Myers for a four-game series over the weekend.

It was Pedrick's first time seeing St. Lucie on its home field, but the lifelong Atlanta Braves — and Florida Gators — fan wasn’t there to see the Mets.

She was there to see Tebow.

“I wanted to see him play baseball,” said Pedrick, who wore a navy blue Columbia Fireflies T-shirt with Tebow’s name and No. 15 on the back. “I like baseball, but it’s Tim Tebow.

"That’s why I’m here.”

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Pedrick’s passion for baseball is evident in the names of her first three children — Maddux (in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux), Maguire (named for retired slugger Mark McGwire) and Mitchell (a nod to the infamous Mitchell Report on steroid use).

But seeing Tebow isn’t really about baseball. Pedrick said she would have made the drive to Port St. Lucie had the former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback been reading one of his books in public.

“It’s the whole thing,” Pedrick said. “He is such a fantastic human being, the things he stands for, all the charity work that he does, his Christian values. All the criticism he’s received in various arenas, he’s never one time stooped to the level to talk back to it. It’s always, ‘Oh, so blessed to be here.’ His books — he’s a great, great example for our young kids, which we need desperately.”

It was the sentiment of many in attendance for Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Palm Beach Cardinals.

A crowd started gathering in the first row of seats along the third-base line minutes after gates opened. It was so packed that some fans with tickets in the row needed a security escort to get to their seats.

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Even when rain started falling before the game, few moved from their place near the dugout. They would rather get wet and possibly score an autograph or photo than stay dry and come away empty handed.

“Because of the rain, I wouldn’t have come if not for Tim,” said Port St. Lucie resident Arlene Klein. “I think he’s a wonderful person. He’s a fantastic example for young kids. And he just lives an exemplary life. He really does.

“I’m here to support him.”

Support, not necessarily watch him play baseball.

It wasn’t about seeing an elite player ply their craft. It’s not seeing Tom Brady under center or Lionel Messi with a ball at his feet. It’s Tebow trying to play a sport he initially gave up after his junior year of high school.

But few were talking about his baseball skills Wednesday. For many Tebow fans, it’s not about baseball, it’s about life.

“I like the fact that he is such a good example for young kids. I really do,” Klein said. “Whether he makes it or doesn’t make it is immaterial — and I don’t think he is going to make it to the majors.”

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Tebow went 1-for-2 with a walk in the first game. His hit to lead off the fifth — a high chopper up the middle — drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd. They cheered his walk and grumbled when Tebow was called out on strikes in his first at-bat.

Most people want to celebrate Tebow.

Some still are skeptical.

“This is a pain — a pain. It’s people in my area that are taking away from my game,” said Jack Fishbein, a St. Lucie Mets ticket holder who sits 14 seats away from the Mets dugout on the third base line. “He’s got to prove himself to me still. He’s not hitting above average. And I don’t see his play is above average. Once he proves himself to me, then we’ll see.”

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