On Tuesday, Aug. 30, Tim Tebow is going to have an opportunity that millions of people never had.
After playing some high school baseball to a failed NFL career, Tebow is going to workout for more than half of MLB's teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Mets.
Why?
Because he's a former professional athlete with a big body, but mainly because he's Tim Tebow.
That being said, don't be surprised to see him land a contract somewhere, and if he does, here are five positions Tebow could fit in on the diamond:
Pinch hit vs. right-handers
Think Matt Stairs, just not as good.
Tebow is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds and there's no denying he's got to have some juice in that swing. Over the course of his career, Stairs belted 23 pinch-hit home runs, more than anyone in history. So it makes sense to utilize the left-handed hitting Tebow off the bench against a right-hander, where he might surprise us with some pop.
Left field
The reason Tebow could be a viable option as a left fielder is because he's not extremely athletic, which keeps him out of center field, and he doesn't have the best arm, which prevents him from playing right field. The shortest throw to third base from the outfield is from left, so there's a good chance that if Tebow can hit a little, a team might be able to hide the fact that he doesn't have an arm.
Right field
On second thought, what if Tebow ends up having a decent cannon?
A quarterback by trade, he did throw for 9,285 yards in college, so there's a chance he could make the throw to third from right field. If that proves to be the case, his bat wouldn't be his only asset, assuming he can hit a little. Not to mention, if you play him deep enough, you can hide the lack of athleticism expected from an outfielder. If Jose Canseco can do it, anyone can.
First base
This makes a bit more sense all around.
There's a number of major-league first basemen who are Tebow's size and build, so it would be an ideal scenario to play him at first base. The question mark here, though, is not only is he able to pick up a ground ball, but can he do it at the hot corner, where the ball comes at him twice as fast as it does at shortstop or second base?
As a left-hander, he's only limited to playing first base in the infield, anyway, so he better be able to hit. He did it in high school and his coach called him a "solid player" as he batted around .300 for the season.
Pitcher
Because, why not?
Tebow is 6-foot-3, bulky, left-handed, and used to be a quarterback, so to think that he'd be a total write-off on the mound is absurd. Not to mention, Jered Weaver throws 86-mph on a good day and will finish the season with an ERA above 5.00. How can a lefty with any semblance of an arm be an automatic "no" on the mound?
He can't.
