Tim Tebow will bring “Tebow Time” to Triple-A for the first time when Syracuse opens its season vs. Pawtucket on Thursday.

After taking batting practice on the field at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse on Tuesday afternoon, Tebow, wearing an orange Syracuse Mets hat with a blue New York Mets warm-up shirt, addressed the media.

“It’s a lot of guys that have played in The Show,” Tebow said of the challenges he’ll face in Triple-A. “And we have a lot of guys that have spent a lot of time in the big leagues. So not only do I learn from those guys, but getting to compete against guys that are going up and down, you just know you’re one step closer. It’s also great competition, just continuing to learn and adjust and adapt to really good players.”

The 2019 season will represent another significant step in Tebow’s baseball career, as the 31-year-old will get his first taste of the highest Minor League level.

Tebow reached Double-A in 2018 and hit .273 with six homers over 84 games for Binghamton, making the Eastern League All-Star team. His campaign came to an end when he broke the hamate bone in his right hand in July, however.

Tebow has been one of the most prominent figures in the Minors since he opted to pursue a professional baseball career in 2016 and subsequently signed with the Mets. At that point, he had not played baseball full-time since 2005, when he was a junior in high school. He said Tuesday that choosing football over baseball was one of the toughest decisions of his life.

"[Baseball was] one of my first loves, when I was 4 [years old] and I put on a White Sox uniform and I was No. 35 just like Frank Thomas," Tebow said. "That was the first team I ever played for, in any sport. So I think it was a little bit in my heart and never really left me, even when I went to [the University of] Florida."

Like a handful of other players on the Mets roster, including Jacob deGrom, Robinson Cano, Yoenis Cespedes and Jed Lowrie, Tebow was formerly represented by Brodie Van Wagenen, who was hired as the Mets general manager last October. Tebow said Van Wagenen is someone he has a lot of respect for, and he's grateful for his support.

“It’s pretty cool that I’ve been on this journey with Brodie for a while, and he was someone that said, ‘All right, I’m open, I’ll take a look at you,'" Tebow said. "I kind of had to convince him a little bit, but he’s been in my corner, that definitely means a lot.”

Although Tebow may be one of the biggest names on the roster, Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco said he is being evaluated in the same way as the other outfielders on the team, including veterans Carlos Gomez and Rajai Davis.

“It’s a result-oriented business,” DeFrancesco said. “Tim is going to go out here and he’s going to have to drive in runs, he’s going to have to have quality at-bats. He has to improve his in-swing misses. ... If he's chasing balls out of the zone, that means he's going to have more of a disadvantage when he gets up [to the big leagues].

"Tim is going to have to tighten up his strike zone," DeFrancesco added. "He's probably seen a lot of hard fastballs but hasn't seen a lot of Triple-A movement. That's what I think they'll try to get him out with."

While the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL star is hoping 2019 will be the year he reaches the Majors, he’s enjoying the journey as he tries to make that dream a reality.

“It’s very exciting," Tebow said. "At the same time it’s going to take a lot more work. But also enjoy the process, every day. Enjoy every opportunity that I get. That’s something that I really try to take a lot of pride in, is having fun."