Tebow Homers in First At-Bat

Well, Tim Tebow's baseball career certainly couldn't have gotten off to a better start. 

The football-hero-turned-baseball-hopeful homered on the first pitch he saw, sending a 91 mph fastball over the left-center wall.  In fact, it was the first pitch in an organized baseball game that he's seen since his junior year of high school - way back in 2005.

The long-ball happened in an instructional league game between New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals prospects.

The small crowd of 269 - most of whom were there to see Tebow Time in action - cheered as the former Florida standout circled the bases.  But they weren't the only ones celebrating - Tebow's teammates poured out of the dugout after the home run.  New York Mets beat writer Adam Rubin says that they may have had a little extra motivation for doing so - as Tebow took them out to dinner Monday and a movie Tuesday after intrasquad games.

Tebow grounded into a double play in his second at-bat and went 1-5 on the day.  

Scouts have raved about Tebow's power since his showcase last month - not surprising for a 6'3" 240 pound former NFL quarterback in his athletic prime.  One scout graded his power an "80" - the highest rating available.

The Mets signed him for a $100,000 contact and insisted it wasn't a publicity stunt.  They assigned Tebow to the Instructional League, where teams put their prospects for scrimmages, drills and casual games.  At 29 years old, Tebow is likely a decade older than most of his teammates.  He's certainly the most popular there - and maybe even all of baseball.  In fact, his no. 15 Mets jersey was, unsurprisingly, the best-selling jersey the day it became available in the MLB shop.