Lankford was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Modesto, California, where he attended Grace M. Davis High School and played baseball and football.

[1] Lankford's uncle, Carl Nichols, was a professional baseball player and spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues.

In his first full season in 1991, he led the league with 15 triples, stole 44 bases, and scored 83 runs, earning him a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

[4] In 1992, he began to hit for more power, and posted a breakout season with a .293 batting average, 20 home runs, and 42 stolen bases.

Lankford posted five seasons of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases with the Cardinals (1992, 1995–1998), making him the only player in franchise history to accomplish the feat more than once.

In his first year at the position, he posted a career high .306 batting average and 15 home runs in an injury-shortened season.

Criticism of his always high strikeout totals helped prompt the trade, even though he had continued to be more productive statistically than many of the other outfielders receiving playing time in St. Louis, including journeyman utility player Craig Paquette and rookie Kerry Robinson.

He returned to the Padres for 2002, but his lone full season in San Diego was marred by injury and inconsistency, as he appeared in only 81 games and batted a career low .221.