Gene Richards (baseball)

Eugene Richards Jr. (born September 29, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder.

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.

[b] 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.

Richards in 1978