Deion Sanders. (1989). $50

Baseball Career Highlights: https://youtu.be/w_wamMTXVCg

Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born in Fort Myers, FL on August 9, 1967), nicknamed “Prime Time” and “Neon Deion”, is an American athlete, sports analyst, and football coach. He is often considered to be one of the most talented NFL players of all time. He is currently the head football coach at Jackson State University. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), where he played with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made one World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Sanders played a nine-year, part-time baseball career, playing left and center field in 641 games with four teams. He was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the 1985 draft, but did not sign with them. The New York Yankees selected Sanders in the 30th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed with the team on June 22. He opened the 1989 season with the Albany-Colonie Yankeesof the Class AA Eastern League. Though Sanders planned to leave the Yankees in July to attend NFL training camp, he became embroiled in a contract dispute with the Falcons, and used the Yankees as leverage. He received a promotion to the major leagues, and spent the summer with the Columbus Clippersof the Class AAA International League. Sanders made his major league baseball debut on May 31, 1989. During the 1989 season, he hit a major league home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, becoming the only player ever to do so. Sanders is also the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Sanders and Bo Jackson were the pre-eminent multi-sport athletes of their time, but prior to the 1990 season, they had never squared off against each other in a professional game. That changed in 1990, when Jackson and Sanders met five times on the diamond — the most memorable of which came on July 17, in what was billed as “The Bo and Prime Time Show.” After Bo Jackson’s three-homer night, Sanders said, “He’s (Bo’s) one of the best athletes who ever put on a uniform.” Sanders made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster for the 1990 season. On May 22, 1990, Sanders became involved in a dispute with Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk. Sanders started by stepping up to the plate with one out and a runner on third, drawing a dollar sign in the dirt before the pitch and then failed to run to first base after hitting a routine pop fly to shortstop, trotting back to the dugout instead. The Yankee fans booed, and Fisk told Sanders to “run the f**king ball out” and called Sanders a “piece of s**t.” Later in the game, Sanders told Fisk that “the days of slavery are over.” Fisk was furious. “He comes up and wants to make it a racial issue, there’s no racial issue involved. There is a right way and a wrong way to play this game.” By mid-July, Sanders expressed that he was unsure if he would remain with the Yankees or report to training camp for the upcoming NFL season. He requested a $1 million salary for the 1991 season, and the Yankees ended negotiations on a contract extension with Sanders. He left the team, finishing the 1990 season with a .158 batting average and three home runs in 57 games. In September 1990, the Yankees placed Sanders on waivers with the intention of giving him his release, as Yankees’ general manager Gene Michael said that Sanders’ football career was stunting his baseball development. Sanders later signed with the Atlanta Braves for the 1991 MLB season. On July 31, Sanders hit a key three-run homer to spark a comeback win against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Braves’ run to the National League West Division title. However, he had to leave the Braves the very next day to report to the Atlanta Falcons because of a clause in his NFL contract and missed the postseason. Before the 1992 season, Sanders reworked his NFL deal, whereby he still reported to the Falcons for training camp in August, but was allowed to rejoin the Braves for the postseason. During the 1992 season, his best year in the majors, Sanders hit .304 for the team, stole 26 bases, and led the NL with 14 triples in 97 games. In four games of the 1992 World Series, Sanders batted .533 with 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 doubles, and 1 RBI while playing with a broken bone in his foot. His batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases and win probability added each led the team in the series. Despite Sanders’ performance, the Braves ultimately lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games.^[23] In Game 3, he narrowly avoided being a victim of what would have been only the second triple play in World Series history (following Bill Wambsganss’s unassisted triple play in 1920). With Sanders on second base and Terry Pendleton on first, David Justice hit a deep fly ball to center field that Blue Jays center fielder Devon White unexpectedly caught with a leaping effort. Pendleton passed Sanders on the bases for the second out, but umpire Bob Davidson called Sanders safe after he scampered back to second base. Replays showed that Toronto third baseman Kelly Gruber tagged him on the heel before he returned to second. In 1997, Sanders finished second in the NL with 56 stolen bases in 115 games while with the Cincinnati Reds before leaving baseball for three years. Sanders returned to the Reds in 2001, but was released after playing in only 29 games and batting just .173. Following his release from the Reds, he signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Sanders was hitting .252 for Syracuse Chiefs before the Washington Redskins found a loophole in his contract which compelled him to return to the Redskins. Sanders’ football contract had been negotiated to allow for him to play both baseball and football, but the terms of the contract stated that Sanders could miss NFL training camp and the first few games of the season only if he were playing Major League Baseball. Since he was not then on an MLB roster, Sanders had to leave Syracuse and return to the Redskins so he would not violate his NFL contract. But before arriving at training camp, Sanders informed Redskins personnel he was retiring from professional baseball. In his final professional baseball game, Sanders hit a solo home run and an RBI single in Syracuse’s 12–6 win over the Toledo Mud Hens. As those in MLB and the NFL urged Sanders to concentrate on only one sport (similar to what they did with Bo Jackson), he would often explain, “football is my wife and baseball is my mistress.”