Tim Tebow Reportedly Had Pitches Grooved by Chad Smith During MLB Tryout

Former relief pitcher Chad Smith reportedly grooved a few fastballs to Tim Tebow during his MLB showcase in August 2016, according to Tim Rohan of The MMQB. 

"Be ready for some fastballs," Smith told Tebow before throwing him a series of fastballs in Tebow's sweet spot, later asking him to sign some baseballs for his parents.

That showcase featured several elements. Tebow ran some athletic tests, did defensive drills and took batting practice. He did all of it with a torn oblique he had suffered a few days before he was set to workout in front of MLB scouts and front office personnel, per Rohan.

The final aspect of the showcase was facing two pitchers, Smith and David Aardsma in a simulated game setting. He struggled against Smith and then Aardsma—a 34-year-old free agent trying to get back into baseball at the time—continuously baffled him with off-speed pitches. 

But up came Smith once more, and this time Tebow began making impressive contact. The caveat in hindsight, of course, was that Smith was grooving him some fastballs he could easily hit. 

Nonetheless, New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson ultimately decided to sign Tebow, albeit with some ulterior motives in mind.

"The Mets have a brand,” Alderson told Rohan. "I looked at Tim as someone who wouldn’t necessarily enhance the brand; he wouldn’t degrade the brand. But he would sure expand the brand."

He added: "Would we have done it without the celebrity element? Probably not... So?"

This year, Tebow, 29, is hitting .232 with two home runs and nine RBI in 23 games for the single-A Columbia Fireflies. In 19 Fall League games for the Scottsdale Scorpions, he hit .194 with two RBI. His chances of ever playing for the Mets or any other MLB club appear to be slim to none.

But when confronted with the question of why he would continue to play baseball despite the essentially insurmountable odds of him ever reaching the Majors, Tebow remains undeterred.

"Why not? Why does everything start out with a negative connotation?" he asked Rohan. "Unfortunately sometimes we look at things in a negative way, rather than striving for what we want to do, and what we believe in, and lifting each other up, and building each other up... Gosh, that’s someone that I want to be."