Red Sox: Rick Porcello confused Tim Tebow for a ball boy

When former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow made his spring training debut against the Boston Red Sox, did Rick Porcello really think he was the ball boy?

When Tim Tebow stepped to the plate against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday he garnered far more attention than what we typically expect from a low-level minor league player making their spring training debut.

He’s yet to record his first hit against a major league caliber pitcher, but Tebow gets more media attention than Mookie Betts. Why? Because he’s Tim Tebow. The former Heisman winner is one of the most popular college football players in recent memory and even after his NFL career flamed out, the support from his fan base has not.

While he’s traded in his shoulder pads for batting gloves, Tebow remains one of the most recognizable athletes in the country. Well, unless you’re Rick Porcello. When the reigning Cy Young winner saw him accidentally warming up in the wrong on-deck circle prior to his first plate appearance he assumed Tebow was a ball boy for the New York Mets.

Rick Porcello thought Tebow was a ball boy when he watched him warm up in the wrong on-deck circle. Porcello was unfazed by it.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) March 8, 2017

Sure, plenty of teams have a 6-foot-3, 255 pound ball boy. Even if Porcello failed to recognize him, Tebow’s chiseled physique should have clued him in that he was a player rather than some kid that got lost collecting a stray bat.

Now, before we start any conspiracies about Porcello mocking Tebow’s attempt to transition from the gridiron to the baseball diamond, we have to remember that the right-hander had reason to be baffled as to why someone wearing the opposing team’s jersey was in the wrong on-deck circle. It was an honest mistake by a player that lacks game experience and Mets manager Terry Collins quickly called his player back.

The confusion over the blunder didn’t seem to faze Porcello by the time Tebow stepped into the batters box, as he quickly struck him out on four pitches.

The Grapefruit League debut didn’t get much better from there for Tebow, who finished the game 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. He also grounded into a double-play that drove in the tying run, drawing an ovation from the Mets crowd.

Only Tim Tebow would get a standing ovation for grounding into a double-play with the bases loaded.
— Sean Penney (@spenney83) March 8, 2017

Of course, that doesn’t count as an RBI and in a bases loaded, no out situation, the Red Sox would gladly allow a run to get two outs. Mets fans are savvy enough to know this, but the Tebow fans were simply desperate for a reason – any reason – to cheer for him.