Career Profile: Ray Lankford

by John Sickels on Apr 7, 2011 7:00 PM EDT

Ray Lankford (Getty Images)

Per reader request, here is a Career Profile for Ray Lankford, one of my favorite players from the 1990s.

Career Profile: Ray Lankford

Ray Lankford was drafted in the third round in 1987 by the Cardinals, out of Modesto Junior College in California. He was considered quite toolsy, with above-average speed, although it was uncertain how much power he would develop. Assigned to Johnson City in the Appalachian League after signing, he hit .308 with 14 steals in 66 games. Although he hit just three homers, he did knock 17 doubles, a sign of more possible power to come. At this stage he would likely have rated as a Grade B- type prospect.

Promoted to Springfield in the Midwest League in 1988, Lankford hit .284 with 26 doubles, 16 triples, 11 homers, 33 steals, 60 walks, and 92 strikeouts in 532 at-bats. He was rated as the number six prospect in the league by Baseball America. His speed was impressive, he drew walks, and it looked like his power was developing. I would likely have given him a Grade B, projecting him as a potential regular outfielder if his power continued to develop.

Lankford jumped to Double-A in 1989, hitting .317/.401/.488 with 28 doubles, 12 triples, 11 homers, 38 steals, and 65 walks in 498 at-bats for Arkansas. Better production, at a higher level of competition. What stands out as a major positive was a dramatic reduction in his strikeout rate: he whiffed just 57 times. I would very probably have given him a Grade B+ at this point, and he would have been somewhere on a Top 50 prospects list. He was rated as the Best Prospect in the Texas League by Baseball America.

The Cards moved him to Triple-A in 1990. His batting average dropped to .260, but he still hit 25 doubles, 10 homers, stole 30 bases, and drew 72 walks. He also hit .286/.353/.452 in a 39-game trial in St. Louis, setting himself up for a regular job in 1991. I would have given him a Grade B+.

Lankford had a mediocre rookie season in 1991, but broke out with 40 doubles, 20 homers, and 42 steals in 1992 at the age of 25. He was a very productive, and at times outstanding, regular outfielder for the Cardinals for the next nine seasons, showing a fine combination of speed, power, and on-base ability. His major league career is very much in line with his minor league career: he developed along a nice, steady growth curve in an almost textbook way.

Lankford finished with a career line of .272/.364/.477, 122 OPS+, WAR 42.2 in 1701 games. He hit 238 homers and stole 258 bases. His peak seasons were 1997 (.295/.411/.585, 31 homers, 21 steals, 95 walks, 159 OPS+, 5.9 WAR) and 1998 (.293/.391/.540, 31 homers, 26 steals, 86 walks, 143 OPS+, 6.5 WAR) at ages 30/31. He faded quickly after that due to injuries, but it was an impressive peak and at his best was a complete player who did everything well.

Most Similar Players: Kirk Gibson, Raul Mondesi, Torii Hunter, Bill Nicholson, Cliff Floyd, Raul Ibanez, Larry Doby (HoF), Eric Davis, Reggie Sanders, and Rick Monday. All of those guys were very good-to-excellent in their primes. Lankford (like the other guys on this list) had a fine combination of tools and skills.

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A treat to watch...

Growing up as a Cubs fan in Springfield IL, it was tough to live in the home of a Cardinals affiliate, but I distinctly remember watching that ’88 team, with Lankford & Gilkey leading the way. The ’87 team that featured Gilkey & Zeile was a better team overall, but Lankford just stood out with his speed/power combo. You could just tell he was headed to the bigs….

by dbreer23 on Apr 7, 2011 7:11 PM EDT reply actions

Great writeup

Thanks for the writeup, John. Ray was my favorite player when I was a kid, but I never really knew his backstory. Very cool.

check out VEB on facebook...just search groups for Viva El Birdos

by Dttl89 on Apr 7, 2011 7:16 PM EDT reply actions

One of my first baseball memories...

was watching Ray Lankford get his first major league hit, a stand up double, as a youngster sitting in the nosebleeds at Busch Stadium. He overtook Ozzie as my favorite player and just seemed to do everything the right way. A great professional.

by adam.brown on Apr 7, 2011 8:35 PM EDT reply actions

I remembered Lankford was good, but I didn’t remember just how good. 42.2 WAR is a borderline Hall of Fame career — he doesn’t deserve to be in, but there are guys in the Hall who didn’t have careers as good as Ray’s.

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by alexwithclass on Apr 7, 2011 9:04 PM EDT reply actions

Lankford has no business being in HOF conversation regardless of how good his WAR was.

by Yankees10 on Apr 7, 2011 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions

See, you say that, and I agree

But the point is that even though he’s not a Hall-of-Famer, and he doesn’t feel remotely like one, he was actually a really, really damn good player.

He was a solid defensive center fielder with 25-30 home run power, plus speed and a walk rate in the 12-15% range during his prime. He had seasons with 6.5, 5.9, 5.5, 5.1, 4.3, 4.1, 2.6 and 2.5 WAR. That’s four seasons as an underrated but elite player, two more seasons as an All-Star, and two more seasons on top of that as a slightly above-average starter.

That’s doesn’t deserve Hall recognition. But it’s still pretty damn impressive, and better than pretty much anyone would initially expect when they think of Lankford.

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I'm a columnist for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
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by Satchel Price on Apr 7, 2011 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions

when did

he insinuate that he did?

check out VEB on facebook...just search groups for Viva El Birdos

by Dttl89 on Apr 9, 2011 7:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I think

Lankford also hit a HR in his last big league AB. Which is pretty darn cool.

by AGuinness on Apr 7, 2011 9:10 PM EDT reply actions

1989

22 year old in AA with that line – especially the k:bb rate – I would think he would be higher than a B+, especially if people projected him with solid defense. For comparison’s sake, in this year’s rankings, time-traveling Lankford would be in the top ten, and perhaps as high as number five for me personally (behind Trout, Harper, Brown, and Montero). Where would he rank on the 2011 list for you, John?

by cookiedabookie on Apr 7, 2011 9:50 PM EDT reply actions

yah

yeah you are right. He would deserve an A- now that I look at it..maybe even an A.

by John Sickels on Apr 7, 2011 10:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Looking at all of these late 80s/early 90s statlines has me wondering how much lower the average K/PA was in those times than it is today. I’d guess it was quite a bit lower. That doesn’t detract from the point that Lankford probably deserved some type of A grade after that season, but it’s worth investigating.

by limozeen on Apr 8, 2011 3:12 AM EDT up reply actions

If my personal sentimental feeling factored into the HoF election

Lankford would get in on his first vote. Fortunately, they do not and he belongs in the Hall of Very Good. But definitely one of the only bright spots on the 90’s Cardinals when I was growing up on the game.

Now think about your Dad.

by purple_haze on Apr 7, 2011 10:12 PM EDT reply actions

Good article

I think I would have enjoyed watching him play if I watched the cardinals everyday back then.

And i’m not sure how most writers feel about this type of thing, but I figure that you guys would like to know if there’s any kind of mistake, as long as it’s not in a ridiculing type of way:

The Cards moved him to Triple-A in 1990. His batting average dropped to .260, but he still hit 25 doubles, 10 homers, stole 30 bases, and drew 72 walks. He also hit .286/.353/.452 in a 39-game trial in St. Louis, setting himself up for a regular job in 2001. I would have given him a Grade B+.

"If we hit that bull's eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate"

by Ivdown on Apr 11, 2011 6:15 AM EDT reply actions