ATL Standard

Buck Showalter has been around professional baseball players, from his playing days in the 1970s up till today, where he manages the New York Mets.

And while he has seen plenty of talent over the years, one player has not escaped his mind: former Atlanta Braves player Deion Sanders.

According to a report by MLB.com, Showalter saw Sanders as a force to be reckoned with on the baseball diamond, as he was one of the quickest players to ever play the game. Sanders played nine seasons in the major leagues, as well as 14 seasons in the National Football League.

Deion Sanders | Wikimedia Commons/Erik Daniel Drost

While he is mostly remembered for his time as one of the best cornerbacks to ever put on cleats, which gave him a Hall of Fame nod in 2011, Showalter remembers Sanders' early baseball days, before he even put on a Yankees or Braves uniform.

“There was a level of speed unlike I ever saw on a ball field,” Showalter said, according to the MLB website. “I remember the first time I saw him steal second base in Albany, and it damn near took my breath away."

Showalter coached Sanders while he was in the Yankees farm system at the Double A level before being called up to the big leagues in 1989. He said there were times during practice where Sanders would be simply too fast for certain drills, where Showalter would actually have to tell him to stop participating in rundown drills. He said players would be making the plays perfectly, but they couldn’t find a way to get him out because of his astonishing speed. 

Showalter said one of the most beautiful things to watch in baseball was Sanders stretching a double into a triple. 

There was a game in 1990 that Sanders played against the Kansas City Royals — who had Bo Jackson, another two-sport phenom. Sanders hit a ball past a diving Jackson and went all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park homer, to the delight of the fans in Yankee Stadium.

Showalter said the former Brave could have been even better if he had played baseball full-time, saying he would have probably hit over .300 with some power, while leading the league in triples and excelling in stealing bases. He called Deion Sanders one of the best prospects he ever had.