Tim Tebow Would Be Oldest Player On Mets Low-A Roster In Over A Decade

Tim Tebow will be on the roster for the low Class-A affiliate for the New York Mets next season. The oldest player was just 24 last year.

Tebow, 29, will be significantly older than his teammates last season. But it’s safe to say that he will also be the only Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion in the clubhouse. He is also a former NFL first-round pick who has won a playoff game as a quarterback.

Though he hasn’t made much of an impression during Mets spring training, he still has a spot on a minor league roster for 2017.

There are more reasons, beyond just his experience in college football and the NFL, that he will stand out on the team: his age.

If you look at the Columbia Fireflies roster from last season, no one was born before 1991. Meanwhile, five players were born in 1995 or 1996. Tebow was born in 1987.

Before that, the Fireflies were known as the Savannah Sand Gnats. Last season, the oldest player on the roster was pitcher Josh Smoker — who played just six games. Jonathan Johnson, second baseman, was also 26.

In 2014, there were five players on the roster who were 25. Two pitchers were 26 the season before that. Likewise, the 2012 season had two players that were 25.

There wasn’t a single player older than 24 on the roster in 2011. The next season, there was one player who was 26. There was one player who was 25 in 2009 and in 2008.

During the first season that the Savannah Sand Gnats were no players older than 24. Then the season before that, the Mets low-A affiliate were known as the Hagerstown Suns.

Matt Anderson, in 2006, played 77 games for the Suns. He was 29 — which is how old Tebow will be if and when he plays for the low-A minor league Mets next season.

No matter what, though, expect Columbia Fireflies ticket and jersey sales to skyrocket if Tebow remains on the team in 2017.