Tim Tebow says famous home run his 1st time at bat was luck: ‘I closed my eyes’

Former NFL star Tim Tebow appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” Wednesday and explained how he managed to hit a home run during his first time at bat with the Columbia Fireflies last season.

The moment was well documented in the sports world, because Tebow was attempting to launch a professional baseball career after not playing for a decade.

“I didn’t know what was going on. I think I closed my eyes and swung,” Tebow said, suggesting it was pure luck. “I knew it was a big (moment), because it was my first at-bat. They go live to ESPN and all these people are (watching). It was the first pitch and, I don’t know, I was aggressive. I was so nervous. I just swung and thankfully, it went.”

Tebow did well enough with the Fireflies to be promoted to the St. Lucie Mets, affiliated with the New York Mets. He’ll be back with St. Lucie this season and told Fallon his goal is to make the major leagues.

“Last year was my first year playing after 12 years off,” Tebow said, noting he hadn’t played baseball since his junior year of high school. “So, huge transition, huge obstacle. And, of course, no one thinks you can do it. But I love trying to prove people wrong, so I’m excited about the challenge.”

Tim Tebow is scheduled to appear at Bob Jones University March 15 event, to talk about how he has used sports “as a platform for Christ,” but also how it has impacted his career. The event will be in the Founder’s Memorial Amphitorium on the BJU campus, starting at 7:30 p.m. For details, visit bju.edu/tebow.

This story was originally published February 8, 2018 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Tim Tebow says famous home run his 1st time at bat was luck: ‘I closed my eyes’."