Batting average .290 Role Baseball player Name Gene Richards | Runs batted in 255 Home runs 26 | |
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Education South Carolina State University | ||
Eugene Richards Jr. (born September 29, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He played eight seasons in the Majors, from 1977 until 1984, for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. As a rookie with San Diego in 1977, he set a modern-day MLB rookie single-season record for stolen bases.
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Early life
Richards was born in Monticello, South Carolina, and attended South Carolina State University.
Playing career
He was the first player selected (by the Padres) in the 1975 January Major League Baseball Draft. He threw and batted left-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). Richards played two seasons (1975–1976) of minor league baseball. In his first pro season, spent with the Class A Reno Silver Sox, he led the 1975 California League in hits (191 in 134 games played), runs (148), stolen bases (85) and batting average (.381). Reno won the California League championship and Richards was named the circuit's Most Valuable Player. Promoted all the way to the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders in 1976, he led the Pacific Coast League in hits (173) and batted .331.
In 1977, he made his major league debut with San Diego and set a then modern-day MLB rookie record with 56 stolen bases during the season, surpassing the previous mark of 49 set by Rollie Zeider in 1910 and tied by Sonny Jackson in 1966. He finished the season batting .290, and finished third in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. In 1980, Richards was tied for 22nd place in MVP voting after he led the league in singles with 151, and set a then-Padres single-season record with 194 hits, broken by Tony Gwynn in 1984. In 1981 he was tied for the NL lead in triples with 12.
During his Major League career, Richards hit 26 home runs. He also led the National League in 1980–1981 in assists by an outfielder. He had 247 stolen bases in his career, with a career-best 61 during the 1980 season. He had 63 career triples and 127 doubles, and 1,028 hits. He especially had successes against the Chicago Cubs. In one game he went 6 out of 7 in a 15-inning game.
Richards held then-Padres career records for triples (63) and steals (242), also broken by Gwynn. He is also the only Padre other than Gwynn to wear the number 19, which he did so in the 1978 season.
Coaching career
Richards retired as an active player following the 1984 Major League season. He spent almost two decades as a coach, roving instructor, and manager in minor league baseball, working in the California/Anaheim Angels' farm system (1992–2001) and the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization (2002–2004). Richards managed the New York Mets' Class A Hagerstown Suns affiliate (2005). He has instructed such players as Matt Kemp, James Loney, Russell Martin, Shane Victorino, Franklin Gutierrez, Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon, Troy Glaus, and David Ross, among others. He also served as a Major League scout for the Seattle Mariners.
He became a baseball instructor for little league, high school, and college players in Reno, Nevada.