BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Count Deion Sanders as impressed with the spectacular show that Shohei Ohtani staged in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series.
“Can they just hand him the MVP during the game?” the Colorado Buffaloes coach said Tuesday at his weekly news conference.
Sanders was in awe after hearing the totality of the Los Angeles star's performance as Ohtani threw six scoreless innings and struck out 10 while also hitting three homers to send the Dodgers back to the World Series.
“That is ridiculous, man," Sanders said.
Best-ever performance, regardless of sport? Sanders wasn't ready to definitively declare that.
“I’ve seen some wonderful things that have transpired in sports. It’s hard for me to say that, but that is unbelievable," said Sanders, who played Major League Baseball while also embarking on a Hall of Fame football career. “He’s doing something that’s unfathomable.”
Sanders envisions Ohtani's two-way exploits possibly paving the way for other baseball players to be allowed pitch and hit in a similar fashion. Maybe not to Ohtani's level — he captured the NLCS MVP pretty much on Game 4 — but at least being given the chance.
It's sort of like how Sanders empowered Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to play wide receiver and cornerback while at Colorado.
“There are many pitchers that can do both, but they’re never allowed to do so,” said Sanders, whose Buffaloes (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) return from a bye week and will play at Utah (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday night. “Because they put (players) in a pocket and say, ‘You just need to do that.’ So hopefully he opens the doors for others.”
Ohtani is the frontrunner to win a second straight NL MVP after a regular season in which he hit .282 with 55 homers and 102 RBIs. He also won the AL MVP in 2021 and '23 with the Los Angeles Angels.
Sanders batted .263 with 39 homers, 168 RBIs and 186 stolen bases over his nine-year baseball career that spanned four teams. He remains the lone athlete to play in a World Series (with the Atlanta Braves) and a Super Bowl (San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys).
“It’s so funny because when I’m in the cafeteria, and the baseball games are on I’m thinking, ‘Dang, I really used to do that,’” Sanders said. “It’s unbelievable. Everybody’s throwing 95 (mph) and over now. Everybody’s launching bombs now. It’s unbelievable, man, what this game has gotten to. But I like it because it’s faster, it’s quicker.”
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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fourth inning in Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
