Back with Clearwater, Cord Sandberg reflects on meeting Tim Tebow

It’s not a make-or-break year in Cord Sandberg’s eyes, but it’s still an important season.

In the last year of his original contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, Sandberg began the 2017 baseball season back in low-Single A Lakewood (N.J.) after spending, and struggling, for all of the 2016 season in Clearwater.

Punctuating the season, Sandberg was hit in the face and missed significant time while with the Threshers, the Phils’ high-A affiliate in the Florida State League.

Getting back to the FSL and Clearwater meant Sandberg needed a different approach at the plate this season. He hit .268 with a .310 on-base percentage for Lakewood in 54 games. And then, early this month, it happened. Sandberg, a former two-sport superstar at Manatee High School, received the promotion back to the Threshers.

“I was excited to get back here and be moving up a level,” Sandberg said. “I was able to have some success there in low-A. I’m just excited for the opportunity to see what I can do here at the next level.”

Sandberg’s approach to hitting is a slower swing that translates into staying on time for a fastball and reacting to off-speed pitches.

After the 2016 season concluded and Sandberg healed from injuries sustained from the late-season pitch to his face, the left-handed outfielder said he spoke to different hitters, such as Scott Kingery and Rhys Hoskins, rated the No. 11 and 13 prospects, respectively, by MLB Pipeline within Philadelphia’s organization.

He stopped trying to swing down and hit line drives. The goal changed to lifting the ball in the air for gap power.

“So far this season, I’ve had some success as far as results in the field, which is nice as far as confidence,” Sandberg said.

Sandberg tallied 81 total bases in 54 games for Lakewood, before his June 5 promotion to Clearwater.

Since then, he has produced consistently: collecting hits in six of his nine Florida State League games, entering Friday’s action, this season. Sandberg has three multi-hit games and launched his first Florida State League home run of 2017 on Thursday against Daytona Beach.

“I’ve just changed where I’m visualizing hitting the ball and that has kind of had an effect on me trying to stay in the zone a little bit longer,” Sandberg said.

The last four seasons signaled a need for change at the plate, Sandberg said.

“If I kept doing what I was doing for the past four years, I don’t think I would have too much longer with a baseball career,” he said. “You can’t hit .230 and advance through levels, unless you’re hitting 50 home runs, and I only hit four or five so those numbers weren’t going to really cut it.”

Sandberg is hitting .300 to start his second stint in Clearwater. While it’s not a be-all, end-all campaign, this season is crucial in a contract season for Sandberg.

“If I can continue to have success, then I would want to keep playing,” Sandberg said. “That being said, if for some reason this year ends up being the same and then next year I don’t really feel like I’m making improvements, then at that point in my career I’d have to just see the writing on the wall. And make a decision and say, ‘Hey, am I continuing to improve and do I think I’m going to be a major leaguer, or do I need to get an education and try to throw the pigskin a little bit.’”

Playing football is something Sandberg excelled at while leading Manatee to the 2011 state title and signing to play collegiately at Mississippi State.

Mississippi State’s head coach is Dan Mullen, who previously was at Florida when Tim Tebow was the Gators’ quarterback.

The two played a similar style.

And this baseball season, Sandberg got a chance to meet Tebow when he was playing for Lakewood and Tebow, who is making a run at a pro baseball career, suited up for Columbia (S.C.).

“I just told him I was a big fan and that I was from Florida, and just really enjoyed watching him play quarterback at the University of Florida,” Sandberg said. “I said, ‘My dad played ball at Florida, so I was a big fan.’ ... And I just wanted to let him know that I just had a lot of respect for the way he lived his live and for him playing the game of baseball.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Back with Clearwater, Cord Sandberg reflects on meeting Tim Tebow."