Tebow’s presence a hit for minor league baseball teams

Tim Tebow had a big effect on minor league baseball and not just during his time with the Columbia Fireflies.

Tebow helped the Fireflies and Port St. Lucie Mets both set attendance records this season and increase attendance in the two leagues, according to numbers released by Minor League Baseball on Monday. The South Atlantic League, which the Fireflies play in, had a 2.1 percent attendance increase. Tebow finished the year with St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State League, which reported an increase of 12.4 percent over 2016.

Tebow’s presence created an increase of more than 225,000 fans in the two leagues based on team attendance averages in games against Tebow’s team versus games against other team leagues.

Columbia drew 315,034 this year, up from last year’s mark of 261,134. A total of 41,832,364 fans passed through the gates at Minor League Baseball games in 2017, the fifth-highest attendance total in the history of the organization.

Tebow played 64 games for the Fireflies and 62 for St. Lucie. He finished the season with a .226 average with eight homers and 52 RBI.