During the 1992 National League Championship Series, he criticized Deion Sanders, who also had become an NFL star, for playing both sports on the same day. For his criticism, Sanders dumped a bucket of water on McCarver three times while he was covering the National League pennant winning Atlanta Braves' clubhouse celebration for CBS. After being doused with the water, McCarver shouted at Sanders, "You are a real man, Deion. I'll say that." Also during the 1992 post-season (when McCarver worked for CBS), Norman Chad criticized McCarver in "Sports Illustrated" by saying that he's someone who "when you ask him the time, will tell you how a watch works", a reference to McCarver's habit of over-analyzing.