Yankees Decide Time Is Prime for Sanders : Move From Double-A Might Throw Wrench Into Falcons’ Negotiations

The New York Yankees were ready for a prime-time player Wednesday when they called up rookie Deion Sanders from double-A Albany (N.Y.) to start in center field against the Seattle Mariners.

But is Prime Time Sanders, as he is known, ready for the major leagues?

After fewer than 100 games in minor league competition, Sanders finds himself under the microscope in Yankee Stadium, where New York has been struggling under new Manager Dallas Green.

Further, the former All-American cornerback from Florida State skipped the 1988 college baseball season to concentrate on football.

Sanders was chosen fifth in last month’s National Football League draft by the Atlanta Falcons, and has said he wants to become the NFL’s greatest cornerback.

“I felt like I had my mind all made up,” Sanders said during a news conference before Wednesday’s game. “I was prepared to leave July 3 for (football) training camp. That was until I got that call last night. Now, I’ll have to look the situation over.

“They said they didn’t bring me up to sit on the bench. I don’t want a look, I want to stay.”

Sanders went one for four Wednesday, starting a five-run, seventh-inning rally with an infield single. He also drove in a runner with a ground-out and threw out a runner at third base in the Yankees’ 9-5 victory.

The promotion gives Sanders’ agent, Steve Zucker, greater bargaining power in negotiations with the Falcons.

“There’s no question about this being a leverage,” Zucker said from Northbrook, Ill. “I’m pleasantly surprised they brought him up this quick.”

The flamboyant Sanders said after the NFL draft that he would seek a $10-million, six-year contract that would make him the league’s highest-paid defensive player ever.

Rankin M. Smith, the Falcons’ chairman of the board, told the Atlanta Constitution Journal Wednesday: “I’m not surprised in a way. (The Yankees) talked about doing it. It’s not something we shied away from. We just have to face it. But all along he has said football is his first love and we took him at his word.”

Said Zucker: “Deion has always said football is his wife, baseball is his girlfriend. Well, his girlfriend just became Miss America.

“It’s one thing to speak from Albany, N.Y., and another to be speaking from Yankee Stadium. Things could change drastically.”

Syd Thrift, the Yankees’ vice president, said the move was not tied to the Falcons’ negotiations, which are expected to resume in two weeks.

“That’s got nothing to do with it,” Thrift said. “We’re in the business of trying to win in the big leagues and we thought this would be a fine opportunity for (Sanders) to perform here and in the Big Apple. We want to see what he can do.”

Sanders’ potential in baseball remains questionable. Most scouts consider him a better football prospect.

Sanders, who bats left-hander, hit .286 with 17 stolen bases and had a .380 on-base percentage for Albany-Colonie of the Eastern League.

“But he couldn’t hit left-handed pitching in the Eastern League,” said Pete Dougherty, a baseball reporter for the Albany Times-Union. “Especially off-speed pitches. Personally, I am not convinced he can hit at that level.”

Florida State Coach Mike Martin said that Sanders needs to polish his offensive skills before he can be considered a major league prospect.

“But I think he can challenge the single-season stolen base record within two years if he is an every-day player,” Martin said.

“With Deion Sanders and Rickey Henderson on the same field, they can create a tremendous amount of excitement in New York. Henderson is the fastest guy in the majors, but wait until he sees Sanders.”

Martin said that Sanders needs to strengthen his throwing arm, although the outfielder threw out a runner at third base in the first inning of Wednesday night’s game. Martin also said that Sanders needs to develop more power at the plate and has difficulty hitting breaking balls thrown by left-handers.

“I don’t know if Deion can play both sports,” Martin said. “I think he’ll choose one or the other. This (promotion) isn’t a publicity stunt.”

Sanders might try to duplicate the athletic feats of Bo Jackson, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1986 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jackson however, chose baseball and returned to the draft in 1987, when he was taken in the seventh round by the Raiders.

Jackson, who is tied for the American League lead with 12 home runs and is fourth in RBIs and stolen bases, splits his time between the Raiders and baseball’s Kansas City Royals. He joins the Raiders when baseball ends one month into the NFL season. Last season, he gained 580 yards in 136 carries for the Raiders, although he was bothered by injuries.

“I think Deion may be a reversal of what Bo does,” Zucker said. “He realizes he must play football full time to be the greatest cornerback ever.”

Sanders, a 30th-round choice of the Yankees last spring, spent last summer playing at Sarasota of the Florida rookie league and Class A Fort Lauderdale, and played five games at triple-A Columbus before returning to Florida State for his senior year. He helped lead the Seminoles to a victory in the Sugar Bowl last January against Auburn.

Sanders batted .280 and stole 11 bases in 17 games at Sarasota, hit .429 in six games at Fort Lauderdale and .150 in six games at Columbus.

“When they tell me to send them up, I send them up,” Manager Buck Showalter of Albany-Colonie said. “I’m always surprised when someone jumps from double-A classification to the big leagues, but I am confident Deion is ready. The Yankees need help.”

And Deion Sanders, center fielder, has arrived to provide it.

Times staff writer Dan Le Batard contributed to this story.