Ortiz: Finally! Ray Lankford makes Cardinals Hall of Fame ballot
Even though Ray Lankford doesn’t have a Twitter account, he is well aware of the passionate support he has received on social media over the last few years from loyal fans eager to see him in the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Lankford’s wife, Erika, is somewhat of a social media guru, he says, so he has a good idea how much fans in St. Louis still love the man who was in many ways the face of the Cardinals franchise in the 1990s.
“I would like to say thank you, thank you, thank you,” Lankford said a day after it was announced that he will make his debut on the Cardinals Hall of Fame ballot. “I appreciate all the support over the years for me and my family. I couldn’t’ have played in front of better fans.”
Lankford, Vince Coleman, Keith Hernandez, Jason Isringhausen, Scott Rolen, Lee Smith and John Tudor are the seven players who were selected for this year’s ballot by a Red Ribbon Committee of local baseball experts.
The two candidates who receive the most votes in online voting from March 1 through April 12 will be named on May 4 to the 2018 Cardinals Hall of Fame class that will be inducted in August.
The pool of candidates is quite deep, with seven truly worthy candidates. I can now say that I included all seven of the finalists on my secret ballot when Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.’s 15-member committee voted Jan. 16.
What is said in that room stays in that room, so all I’ll say is that I’d pay good money to sit and listen to Cardinals stories from Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog or Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.
I sat between those two legends and pretty much kept my mouth shut and listened throughout most of the process. I finally spoke up briefly when Lankford’s candidacy came up to note that the fans’ desire to see Lankford on the ballot was one of the things that has stood out the most on social media since I joined the Post-Dispatch in April 2016.
Fans clearly love and appreciate Lankford’s contributions to the Cardinals. Most loyal baseball fans have one special player who made the sport truly important to them.
Former Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela was that player for me when I was growing up in Los Angeles. Lankford is that player for an entire generation of fans who fell in love with the Cardinals in the 1990s.
Gene Bonds, a 42-year-old who goes by the @crashstl Twitter handle, might be the most vocal Lankford supporter on social media.
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Bonds is so devoted to Lankford’s Cardinals Hall of Fame campaign, his Twitter profile picture is a red, white and blue campaign button for Lankford. Lankford’s picture is in the middle of the button, which says #Lankford4HOF by a Cardinals logo on the left side and 2018 on the right side.
“Ray Lankford was the 90s to me,” Bonds said. “No disrespect to Brian Jordan or anyone else but Ray was the 90s even during Mark McGwire’s historic run. Ray was his protection.
“He had a blend of power and speed and played defense extremely well. In 1996, I believe Steve Finley won the (Gold Glove) and rightly so but Lankford could have been (selection) 1B. From bowling over Darren Daulton to his final career at-bat hitting a home run out of Busch II (against) the Brewers, Ray Lankford put up Cardinal Hall of Fame-worthy numbers.”
Bonds’ rabid devotion to Lankford’s Cardinals Hall of Fame candidacy is a bit odd because he’s adamant that he doesn’t actually have a “favorite” Cardinal. As far as he’s concerned, his co-favorites have always been Coleman, Lankford, Willie McGee and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
McGee and Smith are already in the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame, but Lankford, Coleman, Lee Smith and Tudor are making their debuts on the fans’ ballot this year.
Lankford, who played 13 seasons with the Cardinals, still ranks fifth all-time in franchise history in home runs (228) and stolen bases (250). Nobody hit more home runs at Busch Stadium II than Lankford’s 123.
Considering the deep pool of legendary figures who have helped the Cardinals win 11 World Series over 126 years, it’s impressive to know that Lankford is the only player in franchise history with at least 200 stolen bases and at least 200 home runs for the team.
So, yes, Lankford deserves a place in the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
It was understandable when Lankford wasn’t part of the inaugural class in 2014, which included the 22 automatic entries that were the club’s National Baseball Hall of Famers and luminaries who were already honored on Busch Stadium’s left field wall.
McGee and Edmonds were picked in the fan balloting that year along with Marty Marion as the veteran selection and Mike Shannon as the organizational selection. Ted Simmons and Bob Forsch were picked by fans in 2015. Chris Carpenter and Joe Torre garnered the fans’ vote in 2016. The Lankford chorus picked up significantly last year when he wasn’t even selected to the fan ballot that led to the election of Mark McGwire and Tim McCarver in the 2017 class.
The Cardinals’ Red Ribbon Committee has done its part. Lankford is finally on the ballot. Now his loyal group of supporters needs to vote him in so he can garner the coveted red jacket that is bestowed upon Cardinal Hall of Famers.
“As a kid you go outside and play the game and dream of hopefully having a solid career,” Lankford said. “To be honored, it’s a great feeling. A couple of guys texted me and said my name was going to be on the ballot. I was excited about that. Like anything in life, it’s all about timing.”