The Giants coach who is trying to help Tim Tebow become a hitter

There was a lot of hooting and hollering in the visiting dugout at Sloan Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., and among the paid crowd of 972, as a huge, 29-year-old designated hitter for the Scottsdale Scorpions hit a single to left Tuesday.

Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow had his first hit of the Arizona Fall League after an 0-for-13 start.

"Tebow, being an older guy, out of baseball for a while, the guys were going a little crazy and were happy for him," said his hitting coach for the Scorpions, Damon Minor, a former Giant who knows a thing or two about being a massive left-handed batter trying to hit baseballs consistently.

Tebow, trying his hand at professional baseball, was signed by the Mets and is playing for the same Fall League team that includes several Giants prospects, including outfielder Hunter Cole and third baseman Ryder Jones, who play positions of need for the Giants.

Minor was a .232 career hitter in 136 big-league games for the Giants but has built as a career as a hitting coach.

Tebow is playing in relative anonymity compared to his debut in the Florida instructional league, which drew immense coverage from the New York press.

Minor has not talked football with Tebow, figuring the player appreciates anyone around him who wants to stick to baseball.

Teams often send their best prospects, plus those they feel need more innings or at-bats to refine their games.

Left-handed reliever Josh Osich underwent what general manager Bobby Evans termed a “minor surgical procedure” on his left knee Tuesday.

The Giants did not divulge the nature of the surgery, but Osich said in an Instargam post that he injured his patella tendon two weeks into the 2016 season.

After posting a 2.20 ERA in 35 games as a rookie in 2015, emerging as a closer candidate, he slipped to 4.71 in 2016 and did not make postseason rosters.