It took 34 games as a member of the Syracuse Mets (24-18), but Tim Tebow now has his first career Triple-A home run. It came Sunday during an 8-2 loss to the Columbus Clippers.

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And his teammates gave him the silent treatment when he returned to the dugout:

Hi fives all around for @timtebow’s first HR in AAA #SCTop10 🙌👏 pic.twitter.com/SQMy2NDQev

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) May 19, 2019

The silent treatment after a player’s first home run is somewhat of a good-natured baseball tradition, and even someone as well known as Tebow isn’t immune to the joke.

Outside of the home run, the 31-year-old Tebow has struggled to find his way since being assigned to the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate this season, hitting just .157 in 108 at-bats. He and his supporters hope Sunday’s blast can rekindle some of the offense Tebow provided last year at Binghamton in Double-A. He hit .273 with six home runs and 36 RBIs in 84 games before breaking the hamate bone in his right hand.

Tebow announced in 2016 he was pursuing a baseball career after not playing organized baseball since 2005. He originally made his name as a football player, quarterbacking the Florida Gators to two NCAA titles and winning the 2007 Heisman Trophy. He went on to play three polarizing seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Denver Broncos.

Throughout his athletic career, Tebow has been a media magnet partly due to his boldness in speaking about his devout faith in Christ, and he said he isn’t swayed by the intense on-field and off-field scrutiny he’s received.

“There’s one thing that defines me, and that’s what God says about me,” Tebow said when asked about the criticism earlier this year. “Besides that, I get to go live out my dreams and try to help as many people as possible along the way.”

Tebow has been busy playing baseball, commentating on college football and spending time with his new fiancee, but still found time to put together a Christian sports movie called “Run the Race” that has touched countless lives.

“I really hope that after the audience sees ‘Run the Race’ that they go home encouraged,” Tebow said. “Not necessarily thinking that life is going to be easier, but believing that whatever they’re going through, there’s hope on the other side. That there’s a God that loves them and is with them in the highs and the lows and that when they’re going through tough times, they’re not alone.”

If Tebow’s best athletic days are behind him, or if Sunday’s homer is a sign of things to come, he knows God’s steadfast love for him will endure just the same.

Tim and his brother Robby are also executive producers on the movie “Run the Race,” which released in theaters in February and is now available on DVD at Walmart as well as Digital, On Demand and via the digital movie app Movies Anywhere.

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