Did you know that there was a possibility we would’ve never seen Deion Sanders in college football? No, we are not talking about 2 different positions. We are talking about 2 different games. Deon Sanders is quite the name in the MLB scene. He played 9 total seasons with the New York Yankees, Braves, Reds, and Giants. He ended his run as an outfielder with .263/.319/.392 slash line stats. It ain’t no wonder why he let Travis Hunter go for both positions on the Buffs. Talent recognizes talent. But do you know who made Deion pursue his baseball dreams? Baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

But with great sadness in our hearts, we have to report that the 65-year-old baseball legend has unfortunately passed away. Coach Prime quickly took to his Instagram account to share the impact Henderson had on him. “Rickey Henderson is my Baseball Hero! I wanted to play like he played, I wanted the patience at the plate he had & the understanding of the art of base stealing,” Deion wrote on his post, which also had multiple pictures of him and Henderson together.

Henderson has the all-time high record for bases stolen. Standing at — 1.741 —. This ain’t something any random player could achieve. You need the perfect speed and accuracy, along with a ton of talent, to pull something like this off.

“This hurts. In Jesus name Amen,” Coach Prime added. You know? Then, Athletics retired Henderson’s number in 2017. This makes him one of the total 5 people who have received this honor.

This ain’t even the first time Deion has talked about Henderson. During another interview, Coach Prime mentioned, “I love me some Rickey Henderson.” Henderson is the “original base thief”, and no one will ever get close to achieving what he has achieved. Now, when we are already talking about baseball, why not talk about all the exploits Coach Prime has managed to achieve?

Deion Sanders’ Baseball Legacy

Learning from the best, Deion Sanders locked in 186 stolen bases and 39 home runs during this baseball career run. You know what’s even more exciting? Coach Prime averaged around 5.5 bWAR (Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement) altogether.

And his best season was with the Braves back in 1992, when he managed to snag 3.2 bWAR. On average, a normal MLB player gets around 2.5 WAR in a single season. So Deion, getting more than 3, proves how good he was.

Not only was Coach Prime one of the best CBs in professional football, but he also managed to rock the professional baseball world. This man was out there debuting for MLB in 1989 and then, 5 days later, going to the NFL to play and land a touchdown.

Yeah, Henderson had the best student ever!!