Former Gators QB Tebow to play for Philippines in World Baseball Classic Qualifiers
February 26, 2020
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Former Florida Gators quarterback and current New York Mets farmhand Tim Tebow will be playing for the Philippines in the upcoming World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, according to the WBC's Twitter account
Tebow was born in Makati, one of the largest cities in the nation before moving to Jacksonville with his family at the age of three-years-old.
The World Baseball Classic has fairly liberal rules regarding player eligibility for a country, which includes a player being born in the country, which Tebow qualifies for.
Other eligibility guidelines include the player being a resident, holding a passport, being a permanent legal resident, having a parent who is a citizen or has a parent who was born in the represented nation.
Tebow spent the entirety of the 2019 season in the Triple-A International League with the Syracuse Mets, hitting .163 with four home runs and 19 RBI. He's currently in major league spring training with the Mets.
Qualification for the 2021 World Baseball Classic begins on Thursday, March 12 in the first of two qualifying tournaments. The Philippines qualifier begins on March 20, and are in a pool with Great Britain, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Panama and Spain.
The 2021 WBC qualifiers will be played in Tuscon, Arizona.
Th Philippines have never qualified for the World Baseball Classic, which will play it's fifth tournament in 2021.