Back in the 80s and 90s, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson were at the top of the professional sports world in America.
They were a rare breed: people who succeeded in the NFL and in MLB.
It has been quite a while since those days, though.
In fact, on this day, it will be 35 years since Prime Time made his MLB debut.
“OTD in 1989, Deion Sanders made his MLB debut. Prime really brought the electricity,” MLB tweeted with an exciting play by the gifted athlete.
Sanders, who won two Super Bowl titles and made one World Series appearance in 1992, is widely considered one of the top cornerbacks to ever play football.
His baseball career wasn’t as successful and decorated, but he was very much a competent hitter and a gracious athlete.
He made his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 1989 and also played for the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, and the San Francisco Giants.
His best season was definitely 1992, when he hit .304/.346/.495 with eight homers, 26 steals, and a 136 wRC+.
He also played in the World Series that year and hit .533 with four runs, eight hits, two doubles, and one RBI.
Speed, of course, was his calling card on the baseball field.
In nine seasons in the majors, he managed to steal 186 bases with a season-high of 56 in 1997.
He was a slightly below-average hitter as his 90 wRC+ suggests, but was always a competitive at-bat.
He retired with a career .263/.319/.392 line, 39 home runs, and 308 runs scored.
Currently a football head coach, Sanders is one of the best athletes professional sports have ever seen.
