Tim Tebow leaving Columbia, set to play final game for Fireflies

Tim Tebow is leaving Columbia and will play his last game in the capital city Sunday night.

The Columbia Fireflies announced Sunday afternoon that Tebow, 29, will play his final game in Columbia Sunday night before joining the Class A-Advanced St. Lucie Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla., joining three other Fireflies who earned call-ups this week.

“Tim brought an incredible amount of experience and leadership to our clubhouse,” Fireflies president John Katz said. “His contributions, both on the field and in our community, have made a tremendous impact on our team, the City of Columbia and the entire South Atlantic League. We wish Tim the best as he continues his journey to Citi Field.”

Heading into Sunday’s matchup with Kannapolis, Tebow has appeared in 63 games and owns a .222 batting average. The outfielder has drilled three homers – one coming in his first at-bat on opening night – knocked in 23 runs and worked 23 walks. Tebow leaves with the second-most doubles on the team, at 14.

The two-time national champion at Florida and former NFL quarterback signed with the Mets on September 8, 2016. It was announced on March 20 that Tebow would begin the season with the Fireflies. He played his first professional baseball game in front of a sell-out crowd of 8,412 on April 6 at Spirit Communications Park.

St. Lucie is off on Monday and returns to action against the Palm Beach Cardinals on June 27.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This story was originally published June 25, 2017 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Tim Tebow leaving Columbia, set to play final game for Fireflies."