Carney Lansford
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Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player and coach. He played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) as a
third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...
from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
team that won three consecutive American League pennants and a
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
championship in . He also played for the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...
and the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. Lansford won the 1981 American League batting championship as a member of the Red Sox and was an American League
All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...
in 1988 with the Athletics. In 2023, he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.


Career

Drafted by the California Angels in the 3rd round of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft, Lansford was the Angels' most successful rookie in 1978 and finished third in the overall AL Rookie of the Year vote. He was traded along with Rick Miller and
Mark Clear Mark Alan Clear (born May 27, 1956) is an American former two-time All Star Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels (1979–80, 1990), Boston Red Sox (1981–85), and Milwaukee Brewers (1986–88). He batted and ...
from the Angels to the Red Sox for Rick Burleson and Butch Hobson on December 10, 1980. In 1981, he won the American League batting title in the strike-shortened season, becoming the league's first right-handed hitter to do so in 11 years. However, the emergence of Wade Boggs resulted in the Red Sox sending Lansford to Oakland in a trade involving Tony Armas during the 1982 off-season. Lansford became the Athletics' regular third baseman and was there for their 1988 through 1992 dynasty, typically hitting second behind
Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (December 25, 1958 – December 20, 2024), nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, inc ...
. Lansford narrowly missed winning his second batting title in 1989 with a .336 average (Minnesota's Kirby Puckett finished with a .339 average). Although his power numbers dropped off during those years, and he missed almost all the 1991 season with an injury, Lansford's speed and solid hitting made him a significant contributor to the A's dynasty. He played in three
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
with the A's, losing in and and winning in . In his 15-year career, Lansford was a .290 hitter with 151
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s, 874 RBI, and 224
stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...
s in 1862
games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...
. In five
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...
and three World Series covering 33 games, he hit .305 (39-for-128) with two home runs and 18 RBI. Baseball writer
Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books about baseball history and statistics. His a ...
ranked Lansford as the 39th best 3rd baseman all-time but heavily criticized his defense and wrote that "he was a good hitter but he was an awful third baseman."


Coaching career

Lansford was a hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Lansford was relieved of his duties following the 2009 season. Lansford was hired by the Rockies for the 2011 season. In 2015, Lansford was a Batting Coach for the Lamigo Monkeys of the CPBL.


Personal life

Lansford was born in San Jose and grew up in Santa Clara. He had a cameo role as Kit "Hit or Die" Kesey, the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
batter that Mel Clark (played by
Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...
) retires for the final out in the Angels' pennant-winning game in the 1994 remake of '' Angels in the Outfield''. He claims to be a direct descendant of Sir
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...
, who died with no known children. His son, Jared, was drafted by Oakland in the second round of the 2005 amateur draft. His other son, Josh, was a third baseman in the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
minor league system. His brother, Jody Lansford, spent nine seasons in the minor leagues, briefly breaking into the big leagues with the
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
, for whom he recorded 30 at bats with six hits in parts of two seasons, with one career home run. His other brother, Phil Lansford, was drafted 10th overall in the 1978 draft but never made it to the majors. He played for the Briarwood Little League team, from
Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...
, which made it to the finals of the 1969
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
. In the final game of the World Series on August 2, Carney's team was defeated 5-0 by the team from
Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Lansford is one of fewer than a dozen men who have played in both the Little League World Series and the MLB World Series. In 2019, Lansford created a personal web page where he announced he would be starting a web page dedicated to recapping and commenting on the
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
series '' The Mandalorian''. Lansford is an avid Star Wars fan and has always stated that his favorite character was Boba Fett. However, as of 2020, the web page has been deactivated and Lansford never offered any additional public commentary on the show. Lansford went to Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, California. The school's baseball field is named for him.


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit (baseball), hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the only ...
* List of Silver Slugger Award winners at third base * List of Boston Red Sox award winners *
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball (MLB) players with 1,000 or more career runs scored. Players in boldface are active as of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. Key List *Stats updated as of June 16, 2025. Through June 16, 2025, th ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders In baseball statistics, a stolen base is credited to a baserunning, baserunner when he successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball to home plate. Under Rule 5.06 of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Official Rules ...
*
List of Major League Baseball batting champions In baseball, batting average (baseball), batting average (AVG) is a measure of a Batting (baseball), batter's success rate in achieving a Hit (baseball), hit during an at bat. In Major League Baseball (MLB), it is calculated by dividing a player's ...
* List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansford, Carney 1957 births Living people American League All-Stars American League batting champions Baseball players from San Jose, California Boston Red Sox players California Angels players Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches El Paso Diablos players Idaho Falls Angels players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Oakland Athletics coaches Oakland Athletics players Quad Cities Angels players St. Louis Cardinals coaches San Francisco Giants coaches Tacoma Tigers players Silver Slugger Award winners