Former St. Louis Cardinals' catcher and baseball commentator Tim McCarver. MCT

Remembering Tim McCarver's infamous run-in with Deion Sanders

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 9/27/23

Tim McCarver had a distinguished and impressive career as a baseball broadcaster that made him a staple of some of the biggest moments of his era.

But he also had some infamous moments during that career, and none stand out more than his run-in with Deion Sanders during the 1992 National League Championship Series.

That was the moment when Sanders, in a celebratory Atlanta Braves locker room following their series win against the Pittsburgh Pirates, doused McCarver with multiple buckets of water.

McCarver died in February at the age of 81.

Here's the story on what happened with him and Deion.

On Oct. 11, 1992, Sanders attempted to make history by playing in an NFL and MLB game on the same day.

At the time, Sanders was a two-sport star and played cornerback for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and outfield for the Atlanta Braves. At the conclusion of the Falcons' game against the Miami Dolphins, Sanders flew into Pittsburgh to join the Braves for their NLCS game against the Pirates, hoping to become the first player to play in two professional sports on the same day.

He never actually got into the game.

At the time, McCarver was critical of Sanders for leaving the Braves in the middle of a playoff series to go play football, arguing that it could be considered a breach of contract and that he thought it was the wrong thing for him to do.

Sanders did not care for that criticism, and at the conclusion of the series (which the Braves won in seven games), he made it a point to seek out McCarver in the Braves' locker room and douse him with multiple buckets of water.

McCarver was old school when it came to baseball, and seeing a player leave their team in a playoff series to go play another sport was seen as a huge violation of baseball's unwritten rules and commitment to the team. He did not like it, and being an opinionated broadcaster made that very well known.

But Sanders still ended up making it back in time and was available to play for the Braves, and it showed just how incredible his skills were as a two-sport star that it was even possible for him to attempt it.

What we had here was a pretty significant generation gap that spilled over (literally) into one of the most infamous moments in sports broadcasting.

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