Tim Tebow signs with Mets, with weekends off for ESPN

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow stretches as he prepares to run a 60-yard dash during a private baseball tryout at USC.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow arrives at Dedeaux Field to showcase his skills at a private baseball tryout at USC.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow warms up before a private baseball tryout at USC.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow steps up to the batter’s box to showcase his swing during a private baseball tryout at USC.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow makes a throw from the outfield during a baseball tryout at USC.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow loses his footing as he fields the ball during outfield drills at a private baseball tryout at USC.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow takes batting practice during a private baseball tryout at USC on Aug. 30.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow removes cones from the field as he prepares to showcase his outfield skills during a baseball tryout at USC.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In the end, Tim Tebow will hit, or he won’t. He will sell lots of jerseys. No one will remember that he did not participate in a glorified practice session on the fourth Saturday of September.

But, for as loudly and Tebow and his agent have proclaimed that his burgeoning baseball career is no publicity stunt, the quarterback-turned-outfielder made a curious request of the New York Mets: If I sign with you, can I have Saturdays free to keep my job at ESPN?

The Mets said yes. The team announced Thursday that it had agreed to a minor league contract with Tebow and said he would report to their Florida training complex for the instructional league that starts Sept. 19.

Tebow, 29, said on a conference call that he had made a commitment to ESPN — he is an analyst for SEC football — and wanted to honor that commitment. He will miss one to two days a week, which would be better spent catching up on the critical practice repetitions in a sport he has not played in a decade.

If Tebow’s profile is so high that he has to deny the baseball venture is a publicity stunt, then certainly ESPN would have reinstated the Heisman Trophy winner as an analyst whenever his baseball days are over.

The fact that the Mets staged a conference call to announce the signing of an undrafted minor league player reflected the attention Tebow draws, not the potential for his baseball career.

“While I and the organization, I think, are mindful of the novel nature of this situation, this decision was strictly driven by baseball,” Alderson said on the call. “This was not something that was driven by marketing considerations or anything of the sort. We are extremely intrigued with the potential that Tim has.”

His potential might be great, even if his chances of making the major leagues are not. But, when his celebrity status can get him days off before his first professional at-bat, he risks alienating the very instructors responsible for mining that potential.

Best of luck to Tebow. Good on him for taking on the challenge of a new sport, and risking public embarrassment. However, if he truly wants to make an effort to succeed at baseball, he ought to respect the game enough to make it a full-time effort.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

Twitter: @BillShaikin