Deion Sanders walks out of the visitor's clubhouse at Frontier Field and stands before 20 media members.

Game time for "Prime Time" is nearly three hours away.

"How's everybody doing today?" the former Pro Bowl cornerback and current minor-league outfielder asks. "First question?"

And so begins another media barrage in another strange town.

He is playing for the Syracuse SkyChiefs because he loves baseball, he tells six TV stations and three newspapers.

"The Lord put me here," says 'Neon' Deion Sanders, who went 1-for-5 last night as the leadoff/designated hitter against the Rochester Red Wings -- and was met with cheers and jeers. "I had to touch somebody."

He doesn't want to talk about football while wearing a baseball uniform, so questions about his future with the Washington Redskins go unanswered.

He says he doesn't sit by the phone waiting for the Toronto Blue Jays to call.

Timetable?

"I'm on God's time," says Sanders, who was "fishing all day" at his home in Prosper, Texas, before deciding to join the Blue Jays' organization.

He is charming, soft-spoken and polite. When a TV reporter asks him about his chances of earning a recall to the Cincinnati Reds -- the team that released him last month -- there is silence.

The question is repeated, and the reporter finally catches himself and says "Blue Jays."

"I was waiting for you to correct yourself," Sanders says, flashing his Madison Avenue smile.

The man for whom interviews are as natural as breathing seems surprised by this turnout.

"I didn't know Rochester had this many TV stations," he says. "That's where I am, right?"

Those who travel with Sanders say he's just one of the guys.

"If you move a runner over with less than two outs, he's the first one to dab (congratulate) you," SkyChiefs catcher Joe Lawrence says. "You hear so much about him, see him on TV with the Cowboys and 49ers, and you get a certain impression. But he's nothing like that.

"He rides the bus with us, talks with us ... he's a regular guy."

Syracuse manager Omar Malave says Sanders, who turns 34 next month, has been a model citizen during his two weeks with the Triple-A club.

"At times it can be a distraction because the media is everywhere," Malave says, "but from the first day he got here Deion has fit right in. He never asks for preferential treatment, and he's been great with the younger players."

Sanders wants people to forget their image of him as a rapping, stylin' wild guy. He quietly calls a reporter over and politely informs him that gospel -- not rap -- is now his music of choice.

"I'm serving the Lord," he says. "Not that all rap is bad, but I want to send the right message to kids."

A crowd of 7,420 turned out last night, with "Sanders 21" football jerseys -- Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys and Redskins -- spotted throughout the stands.

Only 2,000 tickets remain for tonight's series finale.

"Deion was my hero growing up," says Henrietta's Jeff Titzler, 19, wearing a Falcons black jersey with "SANDERS 21" on it. "I think he should concentrate more on football, but he's past his prime in both sports so he might as well have fun."

Ouch.

The fans weren't the only ones excited last night.

"Growing up watching an athlete like that ... it's overwhelming for us," Wings center fielder Darnell McDonald says.

Was Deion a hit last night? Depends on who you ask.

About 100 people crowded around both sides of the visitor's dugout before the game and waited in vain for an autograph.

They carried baseballs, helmets, magazines ... even a copy of Deion's autobiography, Power, Money and Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life."

Sanders walked by, waved, then disappeared into the dugout.

He did autograph a baseball and a Cowboys mini-helmet for 9-year-old Xavier Rivera of Rochester, who was hit in the mouth during batting practice. Sanders picked the boy up and brought him onto the field.

The other autograph seekers had to be content with seeing Sanders in person.

One middle-aged man wearing a black Orioles T-shirt finally stood up, hands on hips, and bellowed "Deion, where are you? Come out, ya bum!"

"I'm disappointed but not mad,"' said Steve Hamil, 34. "I understand he's here to do his job. I won't go away mad. I'll just come back (tonight) and try again."