Minor Leaguers debate “Birdbox,” get entangled in weight-lifting battles
By Danny Wild & Kelsie Heneghan/MiLB.com
We’re not breaking any news here, but, it happened: Tim Tebow is engaged!
The Mets Minor Leaguer asked 2017 Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters to marry him — complete with elaborate plan — at his childhood farm in Florida on Wednesday.
Tim gave People Magazine (not MiLB.com, surprisingly) the exclusive details and photos from the day:
The couple strolled along the property, and stopped next to a small lake, where Tebow had installed an arbor and a specially made bench that was engraved with the date the couple first met.
For about five minutes, Tebow and Nel-Peters talked about their relationship and its future in hushed tones before Tebow, 31, dropped to one knee. “Demi Leigh Nel-Peters, I love you,” he said. “Demi Leigh Nel-Peters, will you marry me?”
As Nel-Peters said yes, Tebow slipped a 7.25-carat solitaire ring on her finger. “This ring is internally flawless,” he said. “Just like you.”
Wow. The set-up for the proposal included a cover-up story in which Tebow told his girlfriend he was going to surprise his father with a truck as a late Christmas present. According to People.com, a local car dealership loaned a bow-adorned truck to Tebow just to sell the fake plan to Nel-Peters.
Tim also flew Nel-Peters’ family and friends in from South Africa just to witness the moment.
“Any dreams I’ve ever had, you’ve exceeded them all! I love you and I can’t wait to spend forever with you,” she told Tebow.
You may be curious who Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is, assuming you didn’t follow the 2017 Miss Universe battle. Here she is:
So super honored to be on the women's month cover of @womenshealthmagsa . On shelves Monday! ��
— @DemiLeighNP
Tim broke the news on Instagram Thursday afternoon, posting a few photos:
Tim, who hit .273 with six homers, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs in 84 games last year as an Eastern League All-Star, is slated to begin his third season in the Minors with the Mets at Triple-A Syracuse this April. His now-fiancée was in attendance for his big All-Star Game debut in Trenton last July.
Here’s a few more photos, via People:
In much-less-heralded and now-overshadowed engagement news, Rangers right-hander and 2011 11th-round pick Connor Sadzeck (who appeared in 13 Major League games last season) is now also off the market. No word on whether his proposal included fireworks, cars or fake stories:
I didn't think 2018 could've gotten any better until she said yes. I can't wait to share my life with this beautiful woman
— @connorsadzeck
TCU junior and right-handed pitcher Charles King and Braves prospect Kyle Muller are tangled up in some kind of social media weight-lifting fight:
Okay @kylemuller19, let's quit with the warmup weight �... #530 https://t.co/hqeLORkpJH
— @CharlesKing_
Challenge accepted � @CharlesKing_ #510 https://t.co/Nc9bMM38vl
— @kylemuller19
@kylemuller19 @CharlesKing_ About time you started lifting heavy weight
— @tucktuck6
@tucktuck6 What you know about heavy weights??
— @kylemuller19
@kylemuller19 @CharlesKing_ Hey bro would you just chill out
— @ForrestWhitley
@ForrestWhitley @CharlesKing_ Hahaha you chill out first
— @kylemuller19
Cardinals left-hander Jacob Schlesener, a 2015 12th-round pick, tweeted his dreams of resurrecting the mullet as a fashionable style in 2019:
They say history repeats itself, so let's bring the mullet back.
— @JacobSchlesener
This would seem to ignore Kenny Powers and what I think we can now say was a failure to inspire more mullets in baseball:
Blue Jays right-hander and 2016 Draft pick Josh Winckowski tweeted his goals of owning a dairy farm to ensure his steady access to milk. Maybe Tebow’s old family farm can send some cows?
I really need a farm for a permanent milk supply
— @joshwinckowski
Cardinals shortstop Kramer Robertson, a fourth-round pick in 2017 out of LSU, reports he fell off a treadmill:
I tripped and fell off a treadmill today how's y'alls day going
— @KramerR3
I think we are now legally obligated to include some .GIFs of Kramer falling:
Rangers prospect Jonathan Hernandez showed off the matching pullovers his teammates received at the MLB Rookie Program this week:
With my boys! @thearn14 @CD_Pelham #MLBRookieProgram @Rangers @losrangers
— @jonathanhdez06
I’m not going to spoil Bird Box for you because I’ve resisted watching whatever it is on Netflix. But, like the rest of America, Minor Leaguers are buzzing about the movie:
What happened to all the planes in #birdbox?
— @Burgatron13
What do you think the #BirdBox Monsters are or are representing?
— @Burgatron13
Bird Box...I have questions!�
— @joadell25
What is bird box?
— @tucktuck6
birdbox wassss crazy good
— @lavsav_
Anybody else watch Bird Box and have so many unanswered questions?
— @TheRealGavinLux
@TheRealGavinLux Do you survive?
— @CollinTheroux
@CollinTheroux 100%. Without doubt.
— @TheRealGavinLux
@TheRealGavinLux I don't doubt that for a second brother
— @CollinTheroux
@CollinTheroux Would you?
— @TheRealGavinLux
@TheRealGavinLux Not even close. Way too nosey to not look
— @CollinTheroux
Hornsby (and some staff) wanted to get in on the #BirdBoxChallenge! (don't try this at home, kids) https://t.co/ZHScW5GMUL
— @TulsaDrillers
Chick-fil-A or Chipotle for lunch?
If Liam can put up with Miley's gangster phase and marry her after 10 years, I should be able to decide if I want Chick-fil-A or Chipotle for lunch today. https://t.co/O8BYMRNzm6
— @Bwebb_30
It’s happening: Tim Tebow is getting married was originally published in MiLB.com’s PROSPECTive Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.