Mystery Box O' Cards: Gene Richards

Baseball players with sideburns are automatically better than players without them.

Take a good look at Gene Richards here. He's doing a great job at keeping that whole head there working. He's got the afro contained under his cap, while allowing the chops to run down the sides in a seemingly natural formation, but I just know that he must have spend hours in the clubhouse grooming it. All the while, he has a little mustache sneaking in there.

To the Samson's of the baseball world, the sideburns are the only hair that matters.

For instance, when this photo was taken Gene was at the top of both his playing days and his sideburns days. But, as the years went on, Gene's performance declined. As did his sideburns.

Some will say it's because of age. But it's not. It's the sideburns.

Gene is about to begin his first season as manager of the Hagerstown Sun, the Double A affiliate of the New York Mets.

For their sake, he better have sideburns that would make Ron "Superfly" O'Neal envious.