Andrés José Padovani Galarraga [gal-lar-RAH-ga] (born June 18, 1961 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels. He batted and threw right handed.

At six-foot-three and 235 pounds, Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at age of 16. Despite several injuries plagued Galarraga throughout his career, he was a very popular player both for his achievements on the field, and for his big and bright smile that was used to charm, greet, guard, and convince. He was nicknamed "The Big Cat" ("El Gran Gato") for his extraordinary quickness at first base in spite of his big frame.

Contents

1.1 Venezuelan Winter League
1.2 Minor leagues
1.3 Expos 1985-1991
1.4 Cardinals: 1992
1.5 Rockies: 1993-1997
1.6 Braves: 1998, 2000
1.7 Rangers, Giants and Expos: 2001-2003
1.8 Angels: 2004
1.9 Farewell

2 Batting statistics

3 Fielding statistics

4 Highlights

5 Miscellaneous notes

6 Big Cat quotations

7 Related links

8 External links

Career

Venezuelan Winter League

Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas club as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the 1978-79 season. Some of the players he had as teammates were the bigleaguers Tony Armas, Bo Diaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez and Leo Hernández. Galarraga started as an utility and three seasons later he was the regular first baseman. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought this 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too fat to play professionally.

In the 1985-86 season Galarraga played a full 65-games schedule, leading the league in homeruns (14) and runs (47); batting .297, and was second in runs batted in (37) and doubles (10). In 13 overall seasons he hit .271 with 61 homers and 282 RBI in 555 games. Beside this, the stockily-built young player showed good instincts for streching singles, taking the extra base, compiling a significant number of triples and stolen bases.

Minor leagues

In the minors, Galarraga played for West Palm Beach (1979, 1982-83), Calgary (1979-80), Jamestown (1981), Jacksonville (1984) and Indianapolis (1985).

Galarraga earned the Montreal job by being named Double-A Southern League MVP for Jacksonville in 1984, with .289 BA, 27 homeruns and 87 RBI. Also, he led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) on first base. Prior to his majors promotion, he hit .269, 25, 85 with Indianapolis in 121 games, being named Rookie of the Year in the Triple-A International League.

Expos 1985-1991

The Big Cat made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. He struggled on the way in, hitting .187 (14-for-75) with two homers and four RBI in 24 games. His promising start in 1986 was halted with a knee injury. Galarraga had eight homeruns and was leading all NL rookies in runs batted in (25) when he suffered a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery on July 10. He was activated one month later, only for to be re-disabled the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. He returned to action on September, ending with .271, 10, 42 in 105 games.

Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived tough rookie year and, quietly, he had a consistently 1987 season. He hit .305, 13, 90, finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size he displayed solid defense, being adept to scoop throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges."

In 1988 Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had MVP-type season with a .302 of batting average, 99 runs, 92 RBI and 29 homeruns; led league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time. In 1989, Galarraga became target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after All-Star game. That year he led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23, 85. He fell five RBI short of becoming first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more runs batted in. In the mid-season, he blasted his first grand slam and also stole home for first time in his career. Beside this, his stellar play in first base was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award.

Galarraga's 1990 season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. He hit .256 with 20 homeruns and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For third consecutive year he led the league in strikeouts. Smart pitchers exploited his impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga makes a tremendous contribution on the field, sccoping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double play, and going either to his right or his left. He won his second Gold Glove. In that season he had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park homer.

Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through worst offensive season of his career in 1991. Disabled with strained left hamstring between May and July, later he had a new arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed his glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. In that season Galarraga hit .219, 9, 33 in 107 games. He stole home for second time in his career and hit his 100th career homerun. At the end of the season he was traded to the Cardinals.

Cardinals: 1992

Galarraga had a second chance with St. Louis. But early in the year a pitch broke his wrist and he didn't recover until July. He batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1st for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 BA and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent. And The Big Cat got a new life in his career.

Rockies: 1993-1997

In a 1993 season full of remarkable individual achievements, Galarraga flirted with the .400 mark for a while. His final .370 BA was an amazing 127-point increase over his previous year mark, leading the National League batters, and was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in 1939.

Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. His .370 mark also is highest average ever by a Hispanic American player, while becoming the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race.

Galarraga's improvement began when Baylor drastically opened up his stance to make him quicker on inside pitches. The new stance also helped Galarraga generate more power to the opposite field. At the same time, facing the pitcher with two eyes gave him a better view at pitches, lowering his strikeout rate and making him much more consistent at the plate with a better contact. Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

In the strike shortened 1994 season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, when he fractured his right hand on July 28. At this time, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of first place Dodgers. Without him, the Rockies went 3-10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI.

On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit three homeruns in three consecutive innings to tie a MLB record. He finished with .280, 31 homers and 106 RBI. Numbers were helped by fact he stayed healthy for first time in four years. In that season the Rockies had four players with 30 or more homeruns, matching the 1977 Dodgers. Over the next seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI men in baseball, driving in a combined 396 runs between 1996 and 1998 (106, 150, 140). In the same period he batted .279, .303 and .318, with 31, 47, and 41 HRs. Some critics argued that his achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field. But Galarraga belted many homers on the road that travelled over 450-foot. In the '97 season he hit a mammoth homerun off Kevin Brown; a grand slam that landed 20 rows deep in the upper deck at Marlins' Pro Player Stadium and was alternately measured at 573 and 529 feet. Previously, he smashed two homers in two games that traveled 455-foot and 451-foot respectively, totalizing 1,435 feet, an average of 478 feet each.

A free agent at the end of the season, Galarraga signed a 3-year contract with Atlanta.

Braves: 1998, 2000

In his first season in Atlanta Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still produce great power numbers in lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 homeruns and 121 RBI.

During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers and stretching would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a through physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, it stopped the famous Galarraga smile. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire season while undergoing treatment.

Fortunately, slugger Galarraga returned to the field in high spirits and good form after undergoing chemotheraphy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of the Opening Day in the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked the winning run with a homerun and showed his smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and was batting .300. Galarraga finished his comeback campaign hitting .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBI, and even played in the All-Star Game in front of the home fans at Turner Field.

A free agent after the season, Galarraga signed with the Rangers.

Rangers, Giants and Expos: 2001-2003

The change of scenery affected the hot-hitting Galarraga. At 40, he found himself lost in a new league, facing different pitchers, and specially, with star Rafael Palmeiro as the incumbent first baseman for the Rangers. Galarraga was used basically as DH, pinch-hitter and occasional starter against left-handed pitchers. After his disappointed .235, 10 homers, 34 RBI numbers in 72 games, he was traded to the Giants in the mid-season. Then, Galarraga signed with Montreal in 2002 and returned to the Giants in 2003, when he signed a minor league contract before the season. As a part-time player with San Francisco, he batted .301 (82-272) with 12 HRs and 42 RBI.

Angels: 2004

In 2004, Galarraga beat cancer for a second time. He underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment for the same Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that sidelined him in 1999 when he was with the Braves. When rosters were expanded in September 1, Galarraga came back to the majors from the Angels' AAA affiliate in Salt Lake. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, he was widely regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom he became a voice of experience. Galarraga saw action in a few games, and hit one homer to reach 399 for his career total.

Farewell

As appeared in The News

Port St. Lucie, Florida., March 29, 2005 - The five-time All-Star Andrés Galarraga announced his retirement Tuesday with a minimum of fuss, apparently sparing Mets General Manager Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph a possible argument over whether to keep him on the roster.

"He wanted to step down with dignity", said Minaya, who was Montreal's general manager when Galarraga played there in 2002. "Today, he set a great example for old players". Minaya signed the 43-year-old Galarraga, who has 399 home runs, as a right-handed pinch-hitter. But Galarraga struggled most of spring training, batting .235 with 3 homers, 7 runs batted in and 12 strikeouts in 34 at-bats. Randolph favors versatile players on his bench, and Galarraga plays only first base. (*)

"This is a sad day for me, but I honestly felt it was the right time to step away", Galarraga said in a statement. "I just wasn't playing up to the expectations that I have set for myself throughout my entire career, and I wanted to walk away on my own terms".

"Playing has been a part of my life for so long, but I just felt this was the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." (**)

Resources

New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/sports/baseball/30andres.html?) (*)
USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-03-29-roundup_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA) (**)

Batting statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	SH	SF	IBB	HBP	GIDP
2257	8096	1993	2333	444	32	399	1425	128	81	583	2003	.288	.347	.499	.846	4038	1	58	106	177	178

Fielding statistics

G	PO	A	E	DP	TC	FP
2106	18242	1376	176	1646	19794	.991

Highlights

5-time All-Star (1988, 1993, 1997-98, 2000)
Led league in batting average (1993)
Led league in homeruns (1996)
Led league in runs batted in (1996-97)
Led league in hits (1988)
Led league in doubles (1988)
Led league in total bases (1988)
Twice Gold Glove Award (1989-90)
6-time Top 10 MLB Award (1988, 1993-94, 1996-98)
Twice named by The Sporting News for the NL Silver Slugger team (1988, 1996)
Named by The Sporting News for the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award (1993)
Twice led league first basemen in double plays and total chances (1995-96)
Led league first basemen in putouts (1995)

Miscellaneous notes

One of three players in MLB history to hit .400 or better in March/April (1986). The others are Willie Randolph (1980) and Clint Barmes (2005).
First Rockies' player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993)
First Rockies' player to have a field refurbished and named in his honor, when Andres Galarraga Field opened at the Denver Boys & Girls Club
Won the three triple crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons
Set Rockies' record for RBIs before the All-Star break (84, 1997)
Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball - Venezuela, 2000)
Honored in the book Andres Galarraga - Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003)

Big Cat quotations

I don't like the record. You can have it. - After being hit by a pitch for the 21st time, an Atlanta Braves record.

I thought when I first heard the word 'cancer' that I was going to die the next day. The next hardest thing then became how to tell my wife and my three daughters - After the diagnosis.

The attention helped. I think the three main pillars of support to me during those painful treatments were my faith in God, my family and the medicine modern science has today. - Before his treatments were concluded, in late September, 1999.

It was very difficult. I had a lot of nausea. But I always was optimistic. ... Thank God it worked, and I feel better than ever. At a news conference in May 2004, after undergoing cancer treatment for a second time.

External links

Andrés Galarraga at:
- Baseball Almanac (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/art_hr.shtml)
- Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/G/Galarraga_Andres.stm)
- Baseball Reference stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/galaran01.shtml)
- ESPN profile (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=3774)
- ESPN wire news (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=1893739)
- MLB news (http://anaheim.angels.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ana/news/ana_news.jsp?ymd=20040911&content_id=855047&vkey=news_ana&fext=.jsp)
- Stars IQ (http://www.stariq.com/pagetemplate/article-printer.asp?pageid=1209)
- The Sporting News (http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_9_224/ai_60026772)es:Andrés Galarraga

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