Mets: Tim Tebow will need to work his magic for Team Philippines in the WBC qualifiers

Tim Tebow will represent the New York Mets and the Philippines in next month’s World Baseball Classic qualifiers. He’ll need a lot of magic to get the team into the next round.

Next month, Tim Tebow will represent the Philippines in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers. It’s a story getting plenty of attention. After all, Tebow is one of the most electrifying men in sports even if he is a 32-year-old New York Mets minor leaguer.

Amazingly, Tebow and I have a lot in common. We share a first name, we were born a few weeks apart, and we both have a deep connection to the Philippines.

My wife is from the Philippines—the country where Tebow was born when his parents were over there as missionaries. This allows him an opportunity to play for the Philippines in next month’s qualifying round, a privilege I’ll never have.

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But hey—if New Jersey ever breaks apart from the Union and has a team, I’m all in.

Tebow is no doubt an inspiring character. Whether he was on the football field or the baseball diamond, there’s something polarizing about him. Many times his teams made unprecedented comebacks when the odds seemed stacked against them.

The magic Tebow has will do very little to help Team Philippines. You see, it’s not really a country with much of a baseball background. Whenever I’ve attempted to talk about the sport over a plate of balut with any of my Filipino relatives, I’m met with some blank stares.

Over in the Philippines, the main sports are basketball, boxing, and trying not to die of heat exhaustion. I’ve been there three times in my life and each visit felt the sun was trying to kill me and collect on my life insurance.

The Filipinos aren’t keen on outdoor sports. Despite living in such a hot place, the average Filipino person would prefer to stay inside. The source of this knowledge comes directly from my wife, in-laws, and every other Filipino person I have met.

Fortunately, the games won’t be played under the blazing sun of Southeast Asia. Tebow can represent his birth country and the Mets in a more comfortable setting in Tucson—ironically the city where my older city currently lives. Tucson certainly has its own heat, but it’s nothing compared with the tropics of the Philippines.

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The Philippines will go up against the Czech Republic, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Panama with the top two teams advancing to play in the World Baseball Classic next spring. Tebow will need all of the magic he can get and maybe a little help from Manny Pacquaio, Lea Solango, and Vice Ganda.

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