Deion Sanders Praises Ohtani's Unprecedented NLCS Performance Driving Dodgers to World Series

Deion Sanders heaped praise on Shohei Ohtani’s Game 4 NLCS performance — in which Ohtani threw six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and hit three homers — calling it “unbelievable” and asking, "Can they just hand him the MVP during the game?" Sanders, who played both Major League Baseball and a Hall of Fame NFL career, said he has seen great sporting feats but found Ohtani’s two-way excellence unfathomable while stopping short of labeling it the greatest performance ever. He suggested Ohtani’s exploits could help open the door for other players to both pitch and hit rather than being pigeonholed into a single role, drawing a parallel to how he let Travis Hunter play both offense and defense at Colorado. Ohtani is the frontrunner for a second straight NL MVP after a season that included 55 home runs, and his Game 4 effort sent the Dodgers back to the World Series.