Carney Lansford played third base for the California Angels (1978–80), Boston Red Sox (1981–82) and Oakland Athletics (1983–92). He batted and threw right-handed. He was also a hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies.
Originally 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. The Angels dealt Lansford to the Red Sox after the 1980 season. 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 A's regular third baseman and was there for their 1988 through 1992 dynasty, typically hitting second behind Rickey Henderson. 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 with the A's, losing in 1988 and 1990 and winning in 1989.

In his 15-year career, Lansford was a .290 hitter with 151 home runs, 874 RBI, and 224 stolen bases in 1862 games. In five American League Championship Series and three World Series covering 33 games, he hit .305 (39-for-128) with two home runs and 18 RBI.