Tim Tebow continues his pursuit of reaching Major League Baseball, also known as “the Show.”
Tebow has faced many ups and downs; he suffered early humiliation when he seemed to have more strikeouts than ball contact, but also rode a hot streak that reminded people of his baseball potential from high school.
Recently, Tebow went through the rite of passage that every young baseball fan who is fortunate enough to play professionally experiences.
Tebow got his first official baseball card.
From Yahoo! Sports:
Topps released its 2017 Pro Debut series on Wednesday, and it features the first-ever card of Tebow in a Columbia Fireflies jersey:
2017 Topps Pro Debut will also be home to Tim Tebow’s first official #MiLB card! Find this short-printed cards in packs of Pro Debut pic.twitter.com/ro6HKe66p8
— Topps Company (@Topps) May 23, 2017
Getting your hands on one of them might prove to be difficult, though. As the above tweet notes, the Tebow card is “short-printed.” That means there are fewer copies of Tebow cards in the set than the standard player.
Considering Tebow’s popularity, it’s a smart marketing ploy. Avid collectors and die-hard Tebow fans will probably spend a few extra bucks to pick up more packs in the hopes they can land one of his cards. The odds of getting Tebow’s card is about one in 101 packs, according to Sporting News, so you’ll need luck to be on your side.
If you’re not the type of person who is willing to play a guessing game, you can always go on eBay and buy the card directly. Most listings valued the card around $100, so it’s not going to come cheap. Considering its rarity, that may actually be the better option right now.
If that fails, you can always try and buy one of Tebow’s other baseball cards. Both Panini America and Leaf have put out Tebow cards as well, but those haven’t featured him wearing a Columbia Fireflies uniform. That’s the difference here, and the reason Topps can call this card a “first.” It’s the first card that features Tebow wearing an official minor-league jersey.
Through 36 games with the Fireflies, Tebow has hit .224/.312/.360. He’s shown some impressive power, but has mostly been overmatched. Despite that, the New York Mets are reportedly considering promoting Tebow to a higher minor-league level at some point in the summer.
That minor-league players even get their own baseball cards is a revelation to most. Tebow’s card stands to be a collector’s item, already projected to go for $100, which is unheard of for a player at this juncture.
One of the most sought-after baseball cards of the past 25-plus years was a Ken Griffey, Jr. Upper Deck 1989 rookie card, which was worth nowhere near $100 during his first year.
Tim Tebow continues to break new ground in unanticipated ways. There’s no telling what to expect next.