Tim Tebow's rematch with Max Scherzer ended in the same disappointing result
After a year in the minors, Tim Tebow is still not ready for Max Scherzer’s fastball. Tebow and Scherzer squared off again Friday, and the result was exactly what you would expect.
Tebow struck out on three straight fastballs from the reigning National League Cy Young award winner.
Tebow v. Scherzer lasted 49 seconds. 3-pitch strikeout. pic.twitter.com/sMjMy88DOe
— Matt Ehalt (@MattEhalt) March 2, 2018
Tebow only swung at one of the three pitches. He took the third strike and walked to the dugout. There is no velocity reading available from the contest, so it’s unclear how hard Scherzer was throwing.
If that above video looks familiar … well, it should. Tebow and Scherzer also squared off last spring, and it produced the same result. Tebow struck out against Scherzer on three straight fastballs in that at-bat. The only difference was that Tebow swung twice against Scherzer in 2017.
It wasn’t all bad for Tebow, though. He later singled, picking up his first hit of the spring. That happened after Scherzer was pulled from the game.
The Nationals may have taken a little shot at the quarterback turned outfielder, making sure his at-bat was the highlight they included in one of their Twitter posts.
3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 INT pic.twitter.com/LH3Vtsgt0y
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 2, 2018
After the contest, Tebow complimented Scherzer’s stuff.
Tim Tebow says Max Scherzer is “nasty,” but clarifies that he means that “in a good way.”
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 2, 2018
None of this is meant to be an indictment on Tebow. Long-time major-league veterans still have a lot of trouble touching Scherzer. But the rematch makes for a fun barometer of his progress, and we hope this becomes an annual thing.
With his first full season now out of the way, the 30-year-old Tebow will have to show he’s made progress in the offseason. If he can do that, maybe their third showdown will occur in the majors.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik