The Wandering Disciple

Tim Tebow rounds the bases as he chases down his dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. Already an accomplished football player, the University of Florida standout quarterback turned his attention to the baseball diamond and began his professional baseball career in the 2016 off-season by signing a contract with the New York Mets organization. Tebow has made it to Triple-A, on step below the majors when baseball stopped due to COVID-19. (Photo: July 2, 2017)

Charlotte Sports Park: The first place Charlotte Stone Crabs returned to the field at Charlotte Sports Park to host the St Lucie Mets for game two of a four game series on Tuesday night. It wasn’t the night for the Stone Crabs as they struggled to counter the mound domination by Mets starter Joe Cavallaro is his FSL debut as they fell 5-1. The Mets broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third. Andres Gimenez single to center, scoring Ian Strom to put the Mets ahead 1-0. The Mets added to their lead in the sixth inning. Jeremy Vasquez doubled to center which drove home Michael Paez to increase the lead to 2-0. The Stone Crabs avoided the shut-out by scoring their lone run in the bottom of the seventh. Jermaine Palacious delivered an RBI single that scored Rene Pinto to make it 2-1. The Mets distanced themselves in the final two frames, pushing two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth. TJ Rivera had an RBI single followed by an RBI single by Gene Cone in the eig...

Fort Myers, Florida: After being rained out a night ago, the Fort Myers Miracle hosted the visiting St Lucie Mets to a doubleheader of baseball under the bright Florida sunshine at Hammond Stadium. The visiting Mets took the first game of the twin bill with the Miracle picking up a win in game two. In game one, the Mets used four run fifth inning to lead them to a 5-4 win in the opening game. The Mets broke the scoreless tie by scoring in the second inning. An RBI double by Michael Paez scored Wuilmer Becerra to give them a 1-0 lead. The Miracle tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Tanner English singled home Kevin Garcia to tie the game. But it would not remain tied long as a the Mets struck big in the fifth. JC Rodriguez, John Mora and Anthony Dimino each singled to load the bases. Then Peter Alonso went deep to left for a grand slam to give the Mets a 5-1 lead. The Miracle picked up a run in the bottom of the fifth. Zander Wiel drove home Max Murphy to make it...

Fort Myers, Florida: Our quest to watch baseball games is as many minor league ballparks continued with a trip to Fort Myers and beautiful Hammond Stadium and a Saturday night matchup between the Fort Myers Miracle and St Lucie Mets. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was promoted to St Lucie and was expected to play and it was David Ortiz bobblehead night, so there was no better time to head south and catch a game. However, Mother Nature had other plans. Shortly after the players took the field to begin warm-ups, the radar and lightning detection got active. The players headed back to the clubhouse and the tarp was pulled to protect the infield. After about an hour of nothing happening, the skies opened up. The front office staff eventually postponed the contest and rescheduled it as part of a doubleheader on Sunday. Click on the photo above to view my Miracle/Mets photo gallery.

Port Charlotte, Florida: With the 2015 season winding down, the Charlotte Stone Crabs hosted the St Lucie Mets for a Sunday afternoon showdown at Charlotte Sports Park. The fans in attendance were treated to a one run pitcher’s duel with the home team suffering the 1-0 loss. The Mets broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Matt Oberste singled to right and then later advanced to second on a fielding error on the play. A ground ball by Dominic Smith moved Oberste to third where he later scored on a wild pitcher to make it 1-0. But in a game where pitching was the highlight, that was all that was needed for the win. Greg Harris suffered the loss for the Stone Crabs. Logan Taylor was the winner for St Lucie with Kyle Regnault getting the save. Click on the photo above to view my Stone Crabs/Mets photo gallery .

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Stone Crabs offense was red hot backing a dominating starting pitcher as the Stone Crabs blanked the St Lucie Mets 12-0 at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early lead in the first inning and never looked back. RBI singles by Marty Gantt and Pat Blair gave the Stone Crabs a 2-0 lead. They increased their lead in the second inning. A triple by Willy Adames scored Andrew Velazquz and Kean Wong. Adames later scored on an RBI single by Mike Marjama to make it 5-0. The Stone Crabs added another run an inning later on an RBI single by Armando Araiza to increase the lead to 6-.0 The Stone Crabs put the game out of reach after a six run fourth inning. They sent eleven hitters to the plate with Gantt, Granden Goetzman and Velazquez collecting the RBI’s. When the dust settled, they Stone Crabs were looking a 12-0 lead. All the offense was in support of Greg Harris who was making his Stone Crabs debut. You couldn’t ask for much ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Stone Crabs were shut-out by the St. Lucie Mets 4-0 in the series finale on Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park. The offense failed to get going, finishing the evening with just three hits and a walk. St. Lucie jumped took the lead in the second inning Travis Ozga doubled to right to get things going. Then later in the inning, Rylan Sandoval struck a double into center field to score Ozga and give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Mets got another run in the sixth inning. Gilbert Gomez singled to right to lead off the inning. Gomez later scored on an RBI single by Wilmer Flores to extend the lead to 2-0. The Mets doubled their lead in the top of the ninth inning. Stefan Welch doubled to right to lead off the inning. Welch then scored on a double by Francisco Pena. Pena scored later in the inning on an RBI single by Juan Centeno to give the Mets the 4-0 win. CJ Riefenhauser was on the hook for the loss. Armando Rodriguez picked up the win for St. Lucie with ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs won their seventh game in a row by defeating the St. Lucie Mets 8-7 on Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs lost their lead midway through the game but walked off with the win thanks to a ninth inning RBI by Isaias Velasquez. It was a big night for Stone Crabs fans as Carlos Pena was playing tonight on an MLB rehab assignment, leading off as the designated hitter. It was also the first start for newly promoted pitcher Kirby Yates, who just joined the Stone Crabs after being promoted from Bowling Green. The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Carlos Pena and Tim Beckham led off the inning with back to back singles. Pena then advanced to third after Stephen Vogt grounded into a double play. Greg Sexton drove home the run with an RBI single to score Pena to give the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs added to their lead in the second inning. Michael Sheridan opened the inning with...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs defeated the St. Lucie Mets 5-4 on Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs rallied from a four run deficit to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Mets took the lead in the first inning. Juan Lagares drew a walk to get things started. Lagares stole second then later scored on an RBI single by Stefan Welch to take a 1-0 lead. St. Lucie added to their lead in the second inning with a solo home run by Richard Lucas. The blast increased the lead to 2-0. St. Lucie continued to show their power in the fifth inning with two more home runs. Lucas collected his second home run of the game followed by a solo home run by Jordany Valdespin to give them a commanding 4-0 lead. The Stone Crabs took the zero off the board in a big way in the sixth inning. Anthony Scelfo opened the inning with a triple to center. Scelfo scored an inning later on a single by Chris Murrill. Murrill stole second then moved to third on a si...

Bradenton, Florida: It took eleven innings to determine the winner, but when the dust settled, the Bradenton Marauders fell to the St. Lucie Mets by the score of 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at McKechnie Field. The Marauders took the lead in the first inning. Eric Fryer struck a two run homer to left field to put the home team ahead 2-0. The Mets then cut the lead in half in the third inning. Hector Pellot singled to left with two outs to put a runner aboard. Jordany Valdespin then drove home the run with a triple to right to bring the Mets within a run of the lead. The Mets tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. Stefan Welch singled to center to lead off the inning. Welch stole second then scored on a double by Joey August to tie the game 2-2. It wasn't until the top of the eleventh inning until the tie was broken. Juan Torres plated the winning run with an RBI single to center, scoring Welch and giving the Mets a 3-2 extra innings victory. Jimmy Johnson picked up t...

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds fell to the St. Lucie Mets 10-4 on Thursday night at Ed Smith Stadium. The game was kicked off by Sarasota pitcher Mark Pawelek performing the national anthem on his guitar. But that was the highlight of the night for the Reds as the Mets dominated the rest of the game. St. Lucie took the lead in the first inning. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Reese Havens led off the game with back to back singles. Nieuwenhuis then advanced to third as Zach Lutz grounded into a double play. Carlos Guzman followed with an RBI single to score Nieuwenhuis and give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Mets added another run in the second inning. Stefan Welch singled to lead off the inning and Brahiam Maldonado followed with a walk to but two runners on base. Seth Williams advanced both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Then Welch scored on a sac fly by Hector Pellot to advance the Mets lead 2-0. Sarasota reached the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning....

Port Charlotte, Florida: Sunday evenings game between the Charlotte Stone Crabs and the St. Lucie Mets was postponed due to wet field conditions. Heavy rain fell over Charlotte Sports Park prior to game time but the skies cleared and ground crews went to work prepping the field for play. After over an hour working on the field; both managers and the umpires deemed the field unsafe for play due to water in the outfield. The game will be made up tomorrow as part of a double header. For photos from the rainout, visit my Stone Crabs/Mets game gallery.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs swept the St. Lucie Mets and extended their winning streak to 5 games by defeating the Mets 3-2 today at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs struck first in the bottom of the fourth when Reid Fronk hit an RBI double to score Matt Fields and break the scoreless tie. St. Lucie answered by taking the lead in the seventh inning when Carlos Guzman struck a 2 run homerun to left field that put the St. Lucie Mets ahead 2-1. But the Stone Crabs answered in the bottom of the inning when Reid Fronk scored on a wild pitch by Nicholas Carr and tied the game at 2-2. The 2-2 tied held to the bottom of the ninth inning. Ryan Royster led off the inning with a double to left. Emeel Salem entered the game to pinch run for Royster and was advance to third off a ground out by Matt Hall. St. Lucie then optioned to intentionally walk both Reid Fronk and Shawn Williams to load the bases for Nevin Ashley. That was a move that doomed the Mets as Ash...

Port, Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs won their fourth game in a row and moved into second place in the FSL South division by defeating the St. Lucie Mets 4-2 at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs put up a three run inning in the first to take the lead. Shawn O’Malley and Gregory Sexton scored on an errant throw by St. Lucie catcher Rafael Arroyo that made it wall the way to the left field corner. Then the very next batter, Cody Cipriano, homered to right to put the Stone Crabs up 3-0. St. Lucie scored in the top of the third as Greg Veloz hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Seth Williams. They added another run as Brahiam Maldonado hit a pinch hit home run to narrow the lead 3-2. But Charlotte closed the door in the bottom of the seventh by adding an insurance run as Reid Fronk scored on a fielding error by Greg Veloz. Darin Downs won his third game of the season by pitching 5 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and striking out 2. Rayner Oliveros collec...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs extended their winning streak to three games tonight as they beat the St. Lucie Mets 3-1 at Charlotte Sports Park. The game started on a wild note as Matt Fields was hit by a pitch by Angel Calero and Jeremy Hall followed up by hitting Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Francisco Pena. But both teams quickly put it aside and went back to baseball. The Stone Crabs got out to an early lead in the first inning Emeel Salem led off the inning with a double. Salem advanced to second on an sacrifice by Shawn O’Malley and was brought home on a fly ball by Gregory Sexton to put Charlotte ahead 1-0. Both pitchers dueled with four scoreless frames before Charlotte put another run on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning when Matt Fields hit an RBI single to score Shawn O’Malley and put the Stone Crabs ahead 2-0. They added another run in the next inning as Reid Fronk scored on an RBI double by Stephen Vogt. St. Lucie scored their only run on the ni...

Sarasota, Florida: Excitement filled the air for Saturday night’s doubleheader between the Sarasota Reds and the St. Lucie Mets. The first game saw the Reds walking off with an extra innings 2-1 victory. Then the excitement in the air was replaced by heavy rains, flooding the fields and forcing the postponement of game two of the doubleheader. Sarasota pitcher Sean Watson and St. Lucie pitcher Blake Eager dueled in shut-out innings for most of the game. It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth inning when Chris Valaika crossed the plate to end the scoreless tie. The Mets fought back to put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh to force extra innings. But the Reds did not take long, pushing across a run in the bottom of the eighth to earn the 2-1 walk-off victory. During the intermission between games one and two, the skies opened up and heavy rains fell over Ed Smith Stadium. The flooding of the fields forced the postponement of the second game. Click on the photo ab...

St. Lucie Mets: The St. Lucie Mets are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the New York Mets. The Mets represent the Southern Division of the Florida State League. The Mets began play in the Florida State League in 1998. Since then, they have earned five league championships (1988, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2006). They also served their role in filling the organization with major league talent as well as providing a rehab facility for the entire organization. The Mets play there home games in the 7,347 seat Digital Domain Park. The ballpark opened in 1988 and is also the spring training home of the New York Mets. Click on the photo above to view my St. Lucie Mets photo gallery which includes game photos and player photos. Updated November 27, 2010