Andrés Galarraga

Andrés Galarraga
Galarraga in 2002
First baseman
Born: (1961-06-18) June 18, 1961 (age 55) Caracas, Venezuela
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 23, 1985, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 2004, for the Anaheim Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average	.288
Hits	2,333
Home runs	399
Runs batted in	1,425
Teams
Montreal Expos (1985–1991) St. Louis Cardinals (1992) Colorado Rockies (1993–1997) Atlanta Braves (1998, 2000) Texas Rangers (2001) San Francisco Giants (2001) Montreal Expos (2002) San Francisco Giants (2003) Anaheim Angels (2004)
Career highlights and awards
5× All-Star (1988, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000) 2× Gold Glove Award (1989, 1990) 2× Silver Slugger Award (1988, 1996) NL batting champion (1993) NL home run leader (1996) 2× NL RBI leader (1996, 1997)

Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (Spanish: [anˈdɾez ɣalaˈraɣa]; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Montreal Expos (1985–1991 and 2002), St. Louis Cardinals (1992), Colorado Rockies (1993–1997), Atlanta Braves (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), San Francisco Giants (2001 and 2003) and Anaheim Angels (2004). He batted and threw right-handed.

At six-foot-three and 235 pounds (1.91 m, 117 kg), Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. Despite several injuries that 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. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five time All-Star, won two National League Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won the MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment.