Ray Lankford #16

Raymond Lewis Lankford...Ray and his wife Yolanda have 2 daughters, Raquel and Danielle...graduated from Grace Davis High School in Modesto, CA...lettered in football and baseball...attended Modesto Junior College, where he played baseball and football and became the school's first running back to rush for 1,000 yards...was named Baseball Man of the Year in 1997 by the St. Louis Chapter of BBWAA and was named to Cardinals All Half-Century Team by BBWAA in January 2000.

2004

The veteran outfielder returned to St. Louis and made the team out of Spring Training after a year out of baseball. He started 45 games, including the season opener. A wrist injury in July forced him to the disabled list, and he was not activated until Sept. 1.

2003

Did not play in 2003, as he continued his recovery from a right hamstring injury suffered during the 2002 season.

2002

Did not play in 2003, as he continued his recovery from a right hamstring injury suffered during the 2002 season.

2001

After playing 11 seasons with the Cardinals, was acquired by the Padres August 2 in exchange for righthander Woody Williams...settled in with San Diego, batting .288 with 4 homers, 19 RBI and a .480 slugging percentage in 40 games after hitting .235 with 15 homers and 39 RBI in 91 games for St. Louis...appeared in 131 games overall, batting .252 with 28 doubles, 4 triples, 19 homers and 58 RBI...was 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts, including a perfect 6-for-6 as a Padre...Enjoyed a memorable San Diego debut, homering in his 2nd Padres at-bat August 3 vs. Cincinnati to become the first Padre to go deep in his debut since John Mabry August 1, 2000 vs. Philadelphia...the 4th-inning solo shot off Jim Brower marked the first of his 4 homers with San Diego...went on to bat .320 (8-for-25) in his first 8 games, including 3 extra-base hits, 2 RBI and 5 runs scored...After managing just a .220 average and 4 RBI in July with St. Louis, posted his best month of the season as a Padre in August, batting .301 (22-for-73) with 7 doubles, a triple, 2 homers and 9 RBI...recorded a .507 slugging percentage and a .393 on-base mark in his debut month with the Padres...hit .333 (9-for-27) with 5 RBI during a season-high 7-game hitting streak August 24-September 1...Connected for his 6th career grand slam, his first with the Padres, September 1 vs. Arizona...the blast off Byung-Hyun Kim keyed a 6-run 8th inning and a 7-5 victory...it was his first grand slam since July 28, 1998 vs. Milwaukee, when he took another side-armer, Mike Myers, deep...Returned to St. Louis August 28 for the first time since the trade and hit safely in each of the 3 games at Busch Stadium...went 3-for-12 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI...met up with his former employers again a week later at The Q, and went 2-for-4 and drove in San Diego's lone run in a 6-1 loss September 4...Despite appearing in just 2 of San Diego's last 8 games due to a sore left elbow, closed the year strong with a .290 average (11-for-38) and 5 RBI in his final 13 games...4 of those 13 appearances came in a pinch-hitting role, in which he finished 1-for-4 as a Padre...Posted a .971 fielding percentage in 123 games in the outfield (6 errors in 210 total chances)...recorded 6 outfield assists (one with San Diego)...with San Diego, appeared in 21 games (20 starts) in left field, 16 games (12 starts) in center and 2 games (one start) in right...overall, played 106 games (96 starts) in left, 16 games (12 starts) in center and 2 games (one start) in right...Between St. Louis and San Diego, batted .281 (16-for-56) on the road and .221 (42-for-190) at home...hit .263 (86-for-327) off righthanders and .194 (12-for-62) off lefties...fared well at Pittsburgh's PNC Park, batting .563 (9-for-16) with a homer and 4 RBI in 5 games...overall, hit .455 (15-for-3) with 4 of his 19 homers and 12 of his 58 RBI against the Pirates...batted .400 (14-for-35) with 4 homers and 8 RBI vs. Colorado...Hit his 2nd home run in 10 games with Padres to cap a 4-run 6th inning August 18 vs. the Expos...the 2-run shot proved to be the decisive blow in San Diego's 4-3 win vs. Montreal...went 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI in a 15-11 Coors Field loss September 24 against the Rockies...the 3-RBI game was one of 5 multi-RBI affairs with the Padres (one game with 4 RBI, one game with 3 RBI and 3 games with 2 RBI)...Started the season with St. Louis, batting .235 (62-for-264) with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 15 homers and 39 RBI in 91 games...led the team with 105 strikeouts at the time of the trade, but batted .390 (62-for-159) when he didn't strike out...recorded his 17th career multi-homer game in his season debut April 4 at Colorado, going 3-for-4 with 2 homers and 3 RBI...had 6 extra-base hits and 7 RBI in his first 3 games of the season...homered in 3 consecutive games May 7-9 vs. Pittsburgh...twice homered in back-to-back games, including May 1-2 at Florida and June 1-2 vs. Cincinnati...compiled a season-best 4 RBI in his June 2 outing vs. Cincinnati...matched his career high with 4 hits (9th time) May 17 at Pittsburgh...posted a 6-game hitting streak July 6-15, batting .450 (9-for-20) with 3 RBI...hit .265 (39-for-147) with 11 homers and 26 RBI in 49 games through May 31 before falling into a .197 slide (23-for-117) with 4 homers and 13 RBI over his final 42 games with the Cardinals.

2000

Batted .253 with 26 homers and 65 RBI in his final full season with the Cardinals...ranked 3rd on the club in home runs...posted 4 multiple-homer games to raise his career total to 16...finished 2nd on St. Louis with 148 strikeouts, the 10th straight season with 100 or more strikeouts...after starting with a .176 batting average in April, rebounded with a .302 mark and 7 homers in May and a .306 average and 6 homers in July...passed Rogers Hornsby (193) to move into 3rd place on the Cardinals all-time homer list July 6 vs. Cincinnati...slugged his 200th career homer in a 3-for-5 outing August 24 at Atlanta...belted 3 home runs over a 2-game span, including a pair in the Cardinals' N.L. Central Division clinching win September 20 vs. Houston...hit safely in 6 of 8 post-season game, batting .273 (6-for-22) with 3 runs and 4 RBI...earned a pinch single in Game 1 of the NLCS vs. the Mets.

1999

Moved from center field to left following off-season surgery on his left knee...hit .306 with 15 homers and 63 RBI in 122 games despite opening the season on the D.L...hit .320 with 12 homers in 60 games before the All-Star break...rebounded after a .213 July by hitting .340 in August and .306 in September...his 10 game-winning RBI ranked 2nd on the club only to Mark McGwire's 12...went 14-for-18 in stolen base attempts...had 3 multi-homer games over a 12-game stretch May 16-31...batted .392 (20-for-54) during a 12-game hitting streak June 5-17...had a pair of 4-RBI games: June 12 vs. Detroit and September 1 vs. Florida.

1998

Drove in a career-high 105 runs and matched his career best with 31 homers...led the club with 37 doubles...ranked 8th in the N.L. with 26 steals...went 26-for-31 (84%) in stolen base attempts to move him into 5th place on the Cardinals' all-time steals list (225)...ranked 9th in the N.L. with 86 walks...was the 3rd-toughest player to double up in the league, averaging 133.3 at-bats per double play (533 AB/4 GDP)...raised his average 30 points following the All-Star break, to .293 from .263, after hitting .321 (87-for-271)...accompanied that average with 20 doubles, 20 homers and 67 RBI in the 2nd half...became the all-time home run leader at Busch Stadium with 87 homers, slugging 20 in St. Louis to surpass Ted Simmons' total of 81...finished 2nd on the club in multi-hit (42) and multi-RBI games (27)...established a club record for most strikeouts by a lefthander (151)...paced Cardinals outfielders with 137 starts, 338 putouts, 350 chances and a .986 fielding percentage...stole his 200th career base in the March 31 season-opener vs. Los Angeles...played his 1,000th career game April 8 at Colorado, reaching base 5 times...collected his 1,000th career hit April 15 vs. Arizona...earlier in the day, signed a 5-year contract extension through 2003...hit a grand slam and posted a career high-tying 5 RBI July 20 at San Diego...slugged his 5th career grand slam July 28 vs. Milwaukee, his 2nd slam in an 8-game span...equaled Richie Allen's 1970 single-season team strikeout record when he fanned in his first 5 at-bats August 8 vs. Chicago...ended up winning the game with a game-tying homer in the 11th inning and a decisive RBI single in the 13th...matched his career high with 3 steals September 8 vs. Chicago.

1997

Missed the season's first 3 weeks while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery but went on to lead the club with a career-high 31 homers, 98 RBI, 94 runs, 95 walks, a .585 slugging percentage and a .411 on-base percentage...was among the N.L. Top 10 in home runs (tied for 9th), slugging (tied for 4th), on-base percentage (7th), extra-base hits (8th) and walks (5th)...was named to the N.L. All-Star team for the first time...set a club record for the most homers by a center fielder, surpassing the mark of 25 he set in 1995...became only the 17th Cardinal to hit 30 homers in a season with the highest total since Jack Clark slugged 35 in 1987...led the team in multi-RBI games (27) and game-winning RBI (12)...ranked 2nd on the club with 36 doubles...cranked 2 upper-deck homers July 15 at Cincinnati, becoming the first player in Riverfront Stadium history to reach the upper tier twice in one game...posted a career high-tying 4 hits and 2 homers April 29 vs. San Francisco...hit .462 (12-for-26) in April and .333 with 17 homers and 61 RBI prior to the All-Star break.

1996

Led St. Louis with 100 runs, 265 total bases, 79 walks, 35 steals and 8 triples...was tied for the club lead with 36 doubles...matched his then career high with 86 RBI, while his 100 runs were the most by a Cardinal since Vince Coleman in 1987...ranked 9th in the N.L. in stolen bases...started the season by playing error-free ball over his first 108 consecutive games and 278 chances in center field before an August 13 miscue vs. Los Angeles...led the N.L. with a .997 fielding percentage (one error in 366 total chances)...hit 7 homers, drove in 20 runs and posted a .573 slugging percentage during the month of April...reached base safely in 25 consecutive games May 5-June 2, batting .330 (29-for-88) with a .440 on-base percentage (18 walks, one hit by pitch, 2 sac flies)...hit the first-ever home run to reach the right-field upper deck at Coors Field (483 ft.) May 19...went 18-for-18 in stolen base attempts July 4-September 6...launched his 100th career home run in the first inning July 15 at Cincinnati, then connected for another shot 3 innings later for his 3rd multi-homer game of the season and a career-high 5 RBI...scored his 500th career run August 22 at Colorado...tied his career high (6th time) with 4 hits August 30 vs. Colorado...suffered a torn left rotator cuff on a diving catch September 27 vs. Cincinnati...after going 0-for-13 in the N.L. Division Series vs. San Diego, was limited to 6 post-season games (3 starts) in the NLCS vs. Atlanta...his lone post-season RBI was the Game 2 game-winner October 10 at Atlanta, a sac fly that snapped a 3-3 tie in the 7th inning.

1995

Appeared in a team-high 132 games and paced the Cards in homers (25), RBI (83), doubles (35) extra-base hits (62), slugging percentage (.516), on-base percentage (.360), walks (63) and stolen bases (24)...was just the 7th Cardinal since Busch Stadium opened in 1966 to hit 25 or more home runs...batted .308 with 16 home runs at Busch, one shy of the single-season record for homers at the stadium...his 25 homers were the most by a Cardinals' center fielder, surpassing Stan Musial's 21 in 1952...10 home runs came in September when he took home N.L. Player of the Week honors for September 4-10 (.619, 3 HR, 8 RBI)...was just the 5th Cardinal and the first since 1948 to lead the team in both home runs and stolen bases...had a career-high 16-game hitting streak August 29-September 17...homered in 4 straight games, one shy of tying the club record...posted four 4-RBI games and led the club with 25 multiple-hit games...had a career high-tying 4 hits May 26 vs. Cincinnati and June 10 at Atlanta...his steal of home June 16 vs. San Francisco was the first by a Cardinal since 1990.

1994

Batted .352 with 5 homers and 16 RBI in April...led the club with 89 runs scored, 58 walks and 203 total bases...was tied for first with 19 home runs, one shy of his career best...led off 5 games with homers and won 3 affairs with a home run in the Cardinals' final at-bat...slugged 3 lead-off homers over a 5-game span April 26-May 3...recorded his 500th career hit with a 5th-inning single May 21 at Florida...compiled a career-high 15-game hitting streak April 19-May 7 and scored a run in 13 straight games April 19-May 5...closed the season by hitting safely in 9 consecutive games...was the lone N.L. batter (min. 200 at-bats) not to ground into a double play...ranked 2nd in the N.L. in strikeouts (113) and was tied for 3rd in runs scored.

1993

Hit .238 with 45 RBI after dealing with wrist and shoulder injuries throughout the season...ranked 8th in the N.L. with 81 walks...was 3-for-6 with the bases loaded...his .978 fielding percentage was tops among Cardinals outfielders (min. 100 games)...suffered a strained left shoulder April 9 and had a slight separation of the same shoulder after colliding into the outfield wall August 29 at Los Angeles...was on the 15-Day Disabled List June 24-July 9 with an injured right wrist.

1992

Batted .293 in 153 games, leading St. Louis in 13 offensive categories...hit his 20th homer in the final game of the season, becoming the first Cardinal to post a 20-homer/20-steal season since Lou Brock in 1967...became the first Cardinal lefthander since Brock (1967) to slug 20 homers in a season...66 of his 175 hits (38 percent) went for extra bases...finished among the N.L. top 10 in hits (175), total bases (287), multi-hit games (52), doubles (40), steals (42), slugging percentage (.480) and extra-base hits (66)...hit .327 with runners in scoring position...led N.L. outfielders in putouts (438) and ranked 3rd in fielding percentage (.996) with only 2 errors in 445 chances...posted a club-record 147 strikeouts, surpassing the previous mark of 139 by Jack Clark in 1987...notched a season-high 12-game hitting streak July 9-24...hit his first career grand slam September 13 vs. Chicago...although ranking 6th in the N.L. in stolen bases, was also caught stealing a league-leading 24 times...grounded into just 5 double plays on the year (1/120 AB).

1991

Spent the first of what would be 10 full seasons with St. Louis, finishing 3rd in N.L. Rookie of the Year voting...was named to the Major League All-Rookie team by Baseball Digest and Topps'...had 3 hits and scored the winning run in a home-plate collision with Darren Daulton April 21 vs. Philadelphia...stole a season-high 3 bases and scored 3 runs May 10 at Houston...tied Pedro Guerrero with a team-high 12-game hitting streak August 10-22...slugged 2 homers September 1 at San Francisco, teaming with Felix Jose to give the Cards their first multi-homer tandem since 1950...his cycle September 15 vs. New York was the first by a Cardinal since Willie McGee (1984) and the first by a Cardinals rookie since Cliff Heathcote (1918)...the night before, his 2-run single was the lone hit in a 2-1 win vs. the Mets, the lone St. Louis win in 73 years win with just one hit...drove in 69 runs on the season, the most by a St. Louis rookie since Hector Cruz posted 71 RBI in 1976...led the club with 44 stolen bases and was the first Cardinal rookie since John Heidrick (1899) to total 60 RBI and 40 steals...topped the majors and became the first Cards rookie since Rogers Hornsby (1916) to hit 15 triples...was the first N.L. rookie to lead the league in triples since Juan Samuel in 1984...ranked 2nd on the club with 12 game-wining RBI...was tied for the lead among National League outfielders in total chances (380).

1990

Opened the season at Triple-A Louisville, where he batted .260 with 10 homers and 72 RBI in 132 games before being recalled by the Cardinals August 21...slugged his first Triple-A grand slam May 9 vs. Nashville...batted .309 with 4 homers and 24 RBI in 30 games in June...belted 2 home runs in a 5-1 win vs. Indianapolis July 7...led American Association outfielders in total chances (352) and putouts (333)...finished 2nd in the league with 72 walks, behind teammate Bernard Gilkey...went 30-for-37 in stolen base attempts...went 2-for-4 as the starting centerfielder in his major league debut August 21 vs. Atlanta...hit safely in his first 4 games and reached base via a hit or walk in 27 of the 38 games in which he batted...hit .463 (19-for-41) during a 10-game hitting streak September 6-15...connected for his first career home run September 6 vs. Montreal off Mark Gardner...went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI September 9 at Chicago....batted .311 vs. lefthanders and was 3-for-7 in a pinch-hitting role...was Baseball America's 3rd-best prospect in the American Association.

1989

Was named MVP of the Texas League and the league's top prospect by Baseball America with Double-A Arkansas......was also named to the Texas League All-Star team and to the Topps'/National Association Double-A All-Star team...led the league in hits (158), triples (12) and games (134)...ranked 2nd in RBI (98) and runs (98), 3rd in total bases (243), 4th in average (.317), 6th in stolen bases (38) and tied for 10th in homers (11)...hit for the cycle April 16 vs. Tulsa...batted .364 with 30 RBI in August...recorded 367 putouts in center field, 74 more than any other outfielder...played winter ball for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican League.

1988

Led all of minor league baseball with 16 triples, most in the Cardinals organization since Willie Montanez hit 17 for St. Pete in 1967...named the Midwest League's No. 6 prospect by Baseball America...went 5-for-5 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI April 26 vs. Wausau...hit both homers as part of a 10-run 4th inning for Springfield...finished with 242 total bases, tops among Midwest League leaders and Cardinals minor leaguers.

1987

Was tied for 2nd in the Appalachian League in doubles (17) and ranked 3rd in hits (78) and 5th in average (.308)...led league outfielders in total chances (155) while tied for the lead in assists (7)...was selected to the Appy League All-Star team...played Instructional League ball and led the St. Louis club with a .407 batting average in 33 games.