BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : By Minutes, Sanders Is Ready to Play Two

When Deion Sanders told the Braves on Saturday afternoon that he would fly to south Florida after their game that night against the Pirates to play a football game 1,180 miles away the next day, it ended the suspense for the Falcons. So unsure had they been that he would be available, they had listed him on their depth chart earlier in the week as a third-team cornerback.

But just in case he decided to become the first athlete to attempt to play games in two major professional sports in the same day--actually three games in two sports within 24 hours--the Falcons were prepared.

“We have a hotel room and a uniform for him,” Falcon spokesman Charlie Taylor said on the eve of the game against the Dolphins at Joe Robbie Stadium. “Now, it’s up to him.”

He did not disappoint.

A day in the life of Deion Sanders:

1:15 a.m.--After Sanders plays the final three innings of the Braves’ 6-4 victory over the Pirates in Game 4 of the National League championship series, taking a called third strike in his only at-bat, he boards a Canadair Challenger jet at Allegheny County Airport with an entourage of nine.

The cost of the plane for a day is estimated at between $8,500 and $10,700. There is speculation that the money did not come from his pockets. But even if it did, it would have cost considerably more to miss the game because the Falcons would have docked him about $118,000--1/17th of his $2-million football salary.

3:52 a.m.--He arrives at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. “I’ve been warned there’d be days, but never like this,” Sanders, 25, says upon disembarking.

10:45 a.m.--On no more than five hours sleep and an empty stomach after missing the Falcons’ breakfast, he boards the team bus.

1:01 p.m.--Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville reportedly has said that he would not use a player who missed a practice, which Sanders did on Thursday--when he traveled with the Braves to Pittsburgh--and Friday. But Atlanta offensive tackle Mike Kenn says he has never heard of such a rule. Taylor says Sanders twice has started games after missing practices to play with the Braves. And Sanders starts this one as a kickoff returner. The opening kickoff sails out of the end zone.

1:40 p.m.--Starting at right cornerback, Sanders’ primary responsibility is to shadow Miami wide receiver Mark Duper. On the Dolphins’ second possession, quarterback Dan Marino finds Duper open behind Sanders. He turns his back on the ball and runs full-speed toward Duper, pushing him before the ball arrives. The interference penalty costs the Falcons 47 yards.

1:51 p.m.--Sanders lines up as a flanker on offense and catches a screen pass for a gain of nine yards. It is his first catch of the season, his third in three years in the NFL.

2:25 p.m.--He and two other Falcon receivers go deep on the last play of the first half for a “Hail Deion” pass that is incomplete. It is his only other play on offense, but he sits out only one down on defense on a day when the temperature is 87 degrees and the humidity 63%. “He was exhausted. He looked out of it,” a CBS producer, Rob Silverstein, who was on the jet from Pittsburgh the night before, says of Sanders’ sideline demeanor between series.

3:01 p.m.--Sanders makes one of his three tackles after appearing for most of the game like a man who wanted to avoid collisions. But his coverage is stellar on Duper, who would catch only three passes for 27 yards. “There’s no question we’re a much better team when he’s out there than when he’s not,” Kenn says.

4:02 p.m.--The Falcons lose, 21-17. As Sanders leaves the field, he can hardly walk without stepping on a photographer or a television cameraman. “This is the sort of thing kids dream about,” he had said in a CBS interview on the plane from Pittsburgh. “I’m a kid still.”

4:24 p.m.--Wearing sandals, with a towel around his waist as he lies on a training table, Sanders is hooked up to an IV, which feeds him saline solution to replace lost fluids. “He’s drained,” cornerback Bobby Butler said. “We wear black helmets and black jerseys. The Dolphins were out there in aqua--pool colors.”

4:50 p.m.--If those kids with dreams could see him now. . . . Sanders leaves the locker room, limping from an April baseball injury. “Ow,” he says as someone hits him with the door of the limo that will carry him to a helicopter, waiting in the parking lot. As soon as he arrives at Opa-Locka Airport, the jet will begin its 2-hour 20-minute journey back to Pittsburgh.

5:50 p.m.--It is cold, gray and beginning to rain in Pittsburgh. Manager Bobby Cox is the only Braves’ representative on the bench at Three Rivers Stadium. The clubhouses are closed to the media before postseason games, and Cox is surrounded by reporters. He has heard the same questions all weekend and is not amused by Sanders’ absence, believing it a breach of his agreement to remain exclusively with the Braves during the postseason. He is concerned that if Sanders is hurt in Miami or arrives late, the Braves’ bench strength could be jeopardized, but he reiterates that he doesn’t consider this a distraction.

6:10 p.m.--It is raining harder. Cox is asked if he will fine Sanders for reporting late. “What can I fine him?” he responds. “The man made $118,000 for playing football today.”

6:15 p.m.--Cox watches the ground crew cover the infield. “Damn,” he says. “No batting practice. Too much time to kill.” He returns to the clubhouse. The bench is empty. Sanders isn’t missing a thing.

6:45 p.m.--A few Braves wander out to play catch in the mist. Cox returns to the bench. A reporter tells him Sanders needed an IV in Miami for dehydration. “No kidding,” he said. “I needed (an) IV playing in Venezuela one winter. I was leading the league in home runs and couldn’t sit out. I lost 35 pounds that winter.”

7:00 p.m.--John Smoltz, who has won two of the first four games of the playoffs, stands in a corner of the dugout and expresses what has been the prevailing feeling among the players regarding Sanders’ absence. “We all envy his talent,” Smoltz said. “We all wish we could do the same thing. The concern is that he might get hurt and we couldn’t use him off the bench. He’s a valuable asset.”

8:00 p.m.--The rain is easing as Sanders’ chartered plane arrives at Allegheny County Airport and the cornerback-center fielder hops in a limo for the trip to Three Rivers Stadium, dismissing the temptation to stop in an airport lounge and watch the conclusion of the presidential debate.

8:28 p.m.--Sanders arrives at the stadium as Carol Cocuzzi finishes singing the National Anthem. The rain has stopped. The tarp is off.

8:43 p.m.--Bob Walk of the Pirates delivers the first pitch. Sanders takes a seat on the bench a few minutes later. There is no reaction from the crowd or his teammates.

11:36 p.m.--The Pirates finish a 7-1 victory. Sanders hasn’t left the bench.

Randy Harvey reported from Miami and Ross Newhan from Pittsburgh.