No reason Tim Tebow shouldn’t take a swing at baseball

Tim Tebow has been the subject of much ridicule since word got out that he wants to give professional baseball a shot. From Tebowing to Tee-balling.

But he’s no different than all the other athletes who couldn’t and can’t let go. Some people are built for one thing, and when that one thing is sports at an elite level, it can be very difficult to move on. This particular person just happens to be Tim Tebow in all his genuflecting, polarizing glory.

He wasn’t good enough to be an NFL quarterback. He tried and was found wanting. He turns 29 Sunday, still young with a whole life ahead. If you’re him, what do you do to scratch that competitive itch? How do you get the adrenaline to course through your veins the way it did when you were a Heisman Trophy winner? You can keep banging your head against the wall by joining the Arena Football League or the Canadian Football League. You can take up golf, pickleball or full-contact Scrabble. Or you can be a Southeastern Conference TV analyst and watch an adoring public watch you.

That’s how the crazy idea of baseball worked its way into Tebow’s head. The last time he played the sport was 2005, when he hit .494 as a junior at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Fla. He was good enough to be All-State. So, why not? Put aside all the reasons you don’t like him. Why the heck not?

This is what ultra-competitive, ultra-athletic people do. It’s why you’re watching 31-year-old swimmer Michael Phelps and 37-year-old beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings each compete in a fifth Olympics. They have dedicated their lives to one thing, and there aren’t many Plan Bs out there for them. All their earning potential is tied to their sport. So is their sense of self. They might hear cheers only once every four years, but they hear them in their sleep.

Tebow surely does too. Now he wants to give baseball a chance. He wants to use his muscles. He wants to see if they’ll move in a way that will bring back those cheers. Why not?