Tebow to join Philippines at WBC qualifying

New York Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow will bring some attention to World Baseball Classic qualifying next month when he takes the field for the Philippines.

Tebow, 32, was born in the Philippines in 1987 while his parents were there serving as missionaries. The family moved back to the United States when Tebow was 3 years old.

The Philippines will participate in Pool 2 of qualifying at Tucson, Ariz., along with the Czech Republic, Great Britain and New Zealand. None of the teams in Pool 2 have qualified for WBC play.

Tebow, an outfielder who batted .163 with four home runs and 19 RBIs over 77 games at Triple-A Syracuse last season, is scheduled to play in his first game for the Philippines against the Czech Republic on March 20. He hit a home run for the Mets in a spring training game Tuesday.

The former Heisman Trophy winner played 35 games in the NFL as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets from 2010-12. He completed 173 passes in 361 attempts over his career with 2,422 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also rushing for 12 TDs. —Reuters