September 15, 1991: Cardinals rookie Ray Lankford hits for the cycle

Ray Lankford made his major-league debut on August 21, 1990, as the center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, pushing 1985 National League MVP and four-time All-Star Willie McGee over to right field. Lankford went 2-for-4 with an RBI against the Atlanta Braves. The next day he went 2-for-2, adding two bases on balls.

St. Louis lost both games to Atlanta and was headed for its first-ever last-place finish in the NL East Division, but Lankford had shown he could hit. On August 29 the 31-year-old McGee, second in the batting race with a .335 average, was traded to the first-place Oakland A’s. Lankford played in all but one of the rest of the Cardinals’ games that season, batting .286 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs. He was in the majors to stay. 

Still with rookie eligibility, Lankford began 1991 on the sidelines with a spring-training wrist injury but soon secured a spot in the starting lineup as St. Louis’s everyday center fielder, and by the All-Star break was the Cardinals’ leadoff batter.1

On September 13 the Cardinals hosted the New York Mets in the first of a three-game series. St. Louis (73-66) was in second place in the NL East, 9½ games behind the defending division champion Pittsburgh Pirates.2 The Mets, who had challenged the Pirates through September in 1990, were in fourth in ’91, 15 games back. The New Yorkers had a strong first half of the 1991 season, but losing 21 of 29 games in August took them out of the division race.

St. Louis and New York split the first two games of this September series. Kevin McReynolds’ 10th-inning home run won the series opener on September 13. In the second game, New York’s David Cone held the Cardinals hitless into the fifth inning. But Lankford was the hero, driving in two runs on a single, the only St. Louis hit of the game. He also made two great catches and threw out the potential tying run at home for the final out of the game.

In the series’ rubber game, Cardinals manager Joe Torre called for Rhéal Cormier to take the mound. After being promoted to the majors in August, the left-hander was making his seventh major-league start and had pitched into the sixth or seventh inning in each of his previous games.

Cormier was opposed by another southpaw rookie, Pete Schourek. Schourek had been with the Mets since Opening Day and was making his 32nd appearance but just his fourth start. In his most recent outing, on September 10, he had pitched a one-hit shutout against the Montreal Expos.

Cormier struck out Keith Miller and Kevin Elster to start the game. Howard Johnson singled past third baseman Todd Zeile but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. Lankford’s big day began in the bottom of the first with an opposite-field double. An out later, he stole third base and then scored on Zeile’s two-out double.

In the second, Cormier again faced the minimum, aided by a double play. In the Cardinals’ half, first baseman Rex Hudler belted his first home run of the season and then, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “dashed around the bases, setting an unofficial record for fastest home-run trot.”3 The journeyman had hit seven round-trippers in 1990 for St. Louis but had gone homerless in his first 87 games of the 1991 season.

Three up and three down for the Mets in the third brought Lankford up to bat leading off the bottom of the inning. He lined a single into left and advanced two more bases on Ozzie Smith’s double. Schourek got two fly-ball outs; Geronimo Peña’s was too shallow to plate Lankford, but Zeile drove the ball to center, deep enough for Lankford to tag up and score the third St. Louis run.

The Mets put two men on in the fourth but could not score. Cormier retired them in order in the fifth. The Cardinals, meanwhile, kept the offense going, scoring three more runs in their turn. The left-hand-batting Lankford was “the firestarter, as he tripled to the right-field corner”4 with one out in the fifth, giving him a three-hit game.

Smith stroked his second double of the game, driving in Lankford; he went to third on an error by New York right fielder Johnson. One out later, Zeile singled Smith home. He scored on Félix José’s triple to left. The Cardinals, who had scored more than two runs just once in their last nine games, now led 6-0. Jeff Innis relieved Schourek and got the final out of the inning.

Cormier recorded two quick first-pitch outs to begin the top of the sixth. With the count 1-and-1 on Elster, the Mets shortstop took a borderline pitch for a called strike. He stepped out of the batter’s box, and an argument ensued. When Elster refused to get back in the batter’s box, he was ejected by home-plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt.5

Mel Stottlemyre, New York’s pitching coach, was also tossed for swearing at Wendelstedt.6 Terry McDaniel completed the at-bat for Elster, and Cormier struck out the pinch-hitter. The strikeout was charged to Elster.

The Mets finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh. Johnson led off with a double. Cormier retired the next two batters, McReynolds and Gregg Jefferies, on fly balls in foul territory, but Mark Carreon’s RBI single to the right side brought Johnson home.

St. Louis wasted no time in getting the six-run advantage back. With Wally Whitehurst now pitching for New York, Lankford led off the bottom of the inning by belting his seventh home run of the season. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Lankford’s homer to have traveled 412 feet.7 He had completed the cycle, the first for a Cardinal since McGee on June 23, 1984.

Johnson led off the top of the ninth with a single. He had been perfect at the plate (3-for-3 plus a walk). He took second base on defensive indifference and scored on Jefferies’ one-out double to left. Cormier stranded Jefferies at second, getting the final two outs and securing his third win of the season. The pitcher had notched his first career complete game. He scattered nine hits – including the three by Johnson – and walked one while striking out four. The Cardinals took two of three in the series, and this win lifted their season performance to 10 wins in 15 games against the Mets.8

While the St. Louis papers praised Lankford’s performance, it was overshadowed in the New York press by the Elster-Wendelstedt situation.9 (NL President Bill White reviewed Elster and Wendelstedt’s conduct in the incident but decided to take no disciplinary action.10)

Lankford spoke about his cycle accomplishment in the clubhouse, telling reporters, “It’s a great feeling. It’s something I’ll always remember.”11 When asked about the home run, he said, “I was thinking about it when I came up. But when I try to hit home runs, I have a tendency to pull off the ball, [so] I was just thinking about hitting the ball up the middle.”12 Torre praised Lankford after the game, saying, “As far as all-around ability, speed and excitement, he doesn’t have to take a back seat to anybody.”13

Even New York skipper Bud Harrelson had praise for Lankford, saying, “I’ve always been impressed with Lankford. Now I’m overly impressed.”14 In 18 games against the Mets in 1991, Lankford had 23 hits, 10 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs, while batting .295

Lankford finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.15 He led the NL with 15 triples, the only time he posted double-digit three-baggers in his career. With his 4-for-4 performance, he scored four runs as well. He became the fourth major leaguer to hit for the cycle in 1991, following San Francisco’s Robby Thompson (April 22), Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor (May 15), and California’s Dave Winfield (June 24).

Lankford was the 15th major-league rookie to hit for the cycle.16 He was the second St. Louis rookie to do so, joining Cliff Heathcote (June 13, 1918).

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Madison McEntire and copy-edited by Len Levin. The author appreciates Madison’s insights and recommendations.

Photo credit: Ray Lankford, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources mentioned in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com, Retrosheet.org, and SABR.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN199109150.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1991/B09150SLN1991.htm

Notes

1 In 1991, Lankford batted leadoff in 77 games (76 starts). His next highest spot in the order was third (48 games), followed by sixth (12 games).

2 Coming into the series with the Mets, the Cardinals had been playing .500-baseball (29-29) since the All-Star break.

3 Dan O’Neill, “Cards Ray-cycle Mets, 7-2,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 16, 1991: 29, 36. This was Hudler’s only home run hit in 1991.

4 O’Neill.

5 Wendelstedt ordered Cormier to throw another pitch (which was ruled illegal and did not count, as Cormier had not been on the pitcher’s rubber), and when Elster refused to get back into the batter’s box, he was ejected.

6 Joe Sexton, “Yer Fat, Yer Worse: Elster and Ump Tangle,” New York Times, September 16, 1991: C3.

7 O’Neill.

8 St. Louis finished the 1991 campaign with a record of 11-7 against New York.

9 Both participants said nasty things about the other. Elster “used expletives to describe Wendelstedt and his actions,” while the umpire told reporters, “I’m sick of Elster’s alibis; he’s nothing but an alibi artist. He takes good pitch after good pitch and wants to hang it on the umpire.” See Sexton.

10 “Flashes,” New York Daily News, October 1, 1991: 64.

11 O’Neill.

12 O’Neill.

13 O’Neill.

14 Ed Christine, “Mets Lose Cool And the Game,” White Plains (New York) Reporter Dispatch, (September 16, 1991: 35.

15 Behind Houston’s Jeff Bagwell and Pittsburgh’s Orlando Merced.

16 The rookies to hit for the cycle before 1991 are Chippy McGarr (Philadelphia Athletics, September 23, 1886), Bill Van Dyke (Toledo Maumees, July 5, 1890), Bill Hassamaer (Washington Senators, June 13, 1894), Bill Collins (Boston Doves, October 6, 1910), Cliff Heathcote (St. Louis Cardinals, June 13, 1918), Roy Carlyle (Boston Red Sox, July 21, 1925), Mike “Pinky” Higgins (Philadelphia Athletics, August 6, 1933), Moose Solters (Boston Red Sox, August 19, 1934), Leon Culberson (Boston Red Sox, July 3, 1943), Bill Salkeld (Pittsburgh Pirates, August 4, 1945), Vic Wertz (Detroit Tigers, September 14, 1947), Randy Hundley (Chicago Cubs, August 11, 1966), Gary Ward (Minnesota Twins, September 18, 1980), and Oddibe McDowell (Texas Rangers, July 23, 1985). The Opta Analyst lists both Buddy Rosar and Dave Kingman as rookies when they each hit for the cycle (see Matt Sisneros, “The Most Cycles in a Season, Career and More in MLB History,” August 25, 2023, https://theanalyst.com/na/2023/08/the-most-cycles-in-a-season-career-by-a-team-and-more-across-mlb-history – accessed April 2024). Both Rosar (who hit for the cycle on July 19, 1940) and Kingman (April 16, 1972) had exceeded the 45-game rookie limits, but it is worth mentioning their feats. Ward’s official rookie season was in 1981, the season after he hit for the cycle, but he is included in this list. As of the end of the 2023 season, a total of 25 players (including Ward but not Rosar or Kingman) have hit for the cycle in their rookie seasons.