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SEAT FILLER
TIM TEBOW'S rise through the minors caused a rise in attendance. Both the Class A Columbia Fireflies and the advanced Class A St. Lucie Mets experienced fan spikes with the 2007 Heisman trophy winner in the lineup.
Columbia's crowds rose by 54,000 in 2017, a 21% increase, while St. Lucie drew 35,803 more fans, a 37% jump. Four franchises in the Florida State League set individual game attendance records when Tebow's Mets were in town, and the league as a whole experienced a 9.8% bump.
Tebow didn't give those crowds a ton to cheer about: He batted .226 with 126 strikeouts in 126 games. But he did hit eight homers and generally exceeded expectations for someone who hadn't played baseball in 10 years.
MVPS: Only Michael Jordan has drawn more people to minor league home games than Tim Tebow, although MJ played in a bigger stadium
= 20,000 fans
MICHAEL JORDAN
190,772
TIM TEBOW
89,803
