At the start of the bottom of the third inning, New York Mets designated hitter Tim Tebow left the dugout to get some warm-up swings in before stepping into the box. But, strangely, he walked all the way around behind the plate—from the Mets dugout on the third-base side to the on-deck circle in front of the visitors’ dugout, on the first-base side.
Boston’s Rick Porcello, warming up on the mound, said he assumed it was a bat boy. After all, why would a Mets player be over there?
After a few swings, home plate umpire Ryan Additon noticed Tebow in the wrong on-deck circle, and told Tebow to get back to his side of the field. Tebow sheepishly complied.
Afterward Tebow explained his mistake, saying he had always thought that lefty batters warm up on that side of the field no matter which team they play for.
“I thought you walk around because you’re a left-hander. I found out you don’t do that.”
“It looked like he hadn’t played baseball in a while,” Mets hitting coach Kevin Long said.
“He’s so far behind on the nuances of the game,” Mets OF Jay Bruce said.
“Definitely there’s a lot of things I’m trying to play catch-up on,” Tebow said.
Tebow went 0-for-3, with two strikeouts and a grounder into a double play. He reached base when he was hit by a pitch; he was promptly doubled off on a soft liner when he strayed too far from first.
Here are some highlights:
Tebow will be back in the lineup for a split-squad game on Friday.