Lefty swinging LF Gene Richards burst onto the scene with the Padres back in 1977, when he finished 3rd in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year. Richards played in 146 games for the Padres in 1977 and he was 152 of 525 (.290 avg, .754 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 5 homers, 32 RBIs and 56 stolen bases. His best year with the Padres came in 1980, when he played in 158 games in which he was 193 of 642 (.301 avg, .748 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 4 homers, 41 RBIs and 61 stolen bases (third highest total in Padres’ history). Richards finished 22nd in the voting for the MVP Award in 1980. Richards played in 939 games in his seven years with the Padres and he was 994 of 3,414 (.291 avg, .744 OPS) with 484 runs scored, 26 homers, 251 RBIs and 242 stolen bases. Richards is #2 in Padres history with his 242 stolen bases. He is also #5 in games played (939), #4 in hits (994), #3 in runs scored (484), #2 in triples (63) and #8 in walks (338) in Padres’ history. Richards didn’t play long for the Padres, but he certainly made his mark with them.

27-year old switch-hitting 3B Chase Headley played in 113 games for the Padres last year and he was 110 of 381 (.289 avg, .773 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 4 homers, 44 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. So far this year, Headley has brought out his whopping stick. He has played in 16 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 16 for 56 (.286 avg, 1.004 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Headley has already hit as many homers as he hit in all of 2011 and the Padres hope his new found power is not a mirage.