LOS ANGELES — Tim Tebow crushed a batting-practice fastball with a confident left-handed swing, sending it into the trees next to the scoreboard beyond right field.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback only paused an instant to appreciate his shot, and then he went right back to work on the unlikely next chapter in his unique athletic story.
Tebow took his first big swings at a baseball career Tuesday, showing off a powerful bat and other developing skills during a workout in front of dozens of major league scouts and reporters.
The 29-year-old aspiring outfielder went through drills at the University of Southern California’s Dedeaux Field for over an hour, confidently chasing a dream deferred for 12 years. Declaring his football career essentially over, Tebow insists he is serious about becoming more than a baseball curiosity.
“The goal would be to have a career in the big leagues,” Tebow said. “I just want to be someone to pursue what I believe in, what I’m passionate about. A lot of people will say, ‘But what if you fail? What if you don’t make it?’ Guess what? I don’t have to live with regret. I did everything I could. I pushed it. I would rather be someone that could live with peace and no regret than what-if, or being scared.”
Tebow’s muscled, 255-pound physique and 6.70-ish time in the 60-yard dash impressed scouts. He showed undeniable hitting ability with a series of line drives and long homers in batting practice.
But Tebow also showed he still needs baseball seasoning when he faced live pitching from former big-leaguers David Aardsma and Chad Smith, who repeatedly fooled him with off-speed pitches. Tebow could only grin in frustration after he fanned on a series of changeups and breaking balls.
“There is 100 percent nerves, no question about it,” Tebow said. “When you’re at the combine or a pro day, you have your body of work for four years, everything that you did, so it’s not just that one day. Here, you might have seen me when I was 17, but you haven’t seen me since. A lot goes into it, so you’d better show something. A lot of nerves, a lot of pressure, for sure.”
Tebow hasn’t played baseball regularly since his junior year at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida. He left early to enroll at Florida, beginning a college football career that led to the 2007 Heisman and two national titles.
But 12 years ago, Tebow was an all-county outfielder who batted .494 and loved hitting a baseball every bit as much as he loved leading a huddle.
“The second-hardest decision I ever made was giving up baseball to go to the University of Florida and play football,” said Tebow, whose choice of Florida over Alabama was the toughest. “There wasn’t a season that went by that it wasn’t something that I thought about. When I felt like I had this opportunity, I wanted to take it and pursue it with everything I had.”
A few teams talked privately with Tebow after the workout, and he seems unlikely to have trouble finding one willing to give a chance to a celebrity with clear baseball ability, however rudimentary.
Tebow realizes he is far from the big leagues, but hopes to play in the instructional league in Arizona next month before heading into winter league ball.
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