Home > Andrés Galarraga
Andrés José Padovani Galarraga [gal-lar-RAH-ga] (born June 18, 1961 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball first baseman and right-handed batter who has played for the Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels.At six-foot-three and 235 pounds, Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at 16 and has played baseball ever since. He was nicknamed "The Big Cat" ("El Gran Gato") for his extraordinary quickness at first base in spite of his big frame. Also, he is a very popular player both for his achievements on the field, and for his big and bright smile that is used to charm, greet, guard, and convince. Several injuries plagued Galarraga throughout his career, and, in 2004, he has beaten cancer for a second time.
1 Career
1.1 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 ArmasAntonio Rafael Armas Machado better known as Tony Armas (b. July 2, 1953), was a popular hitter and one of Major League Baseball's top sluggers of the 1980s. He was prone to injuries, and that adversely affected his career. Twice an All-Star, he played 14, Bo DiazBaudilio Jose Diaz Seijas ( March 23, 1953- November 23, 1990), best known as Bo Diaz was a popular baseball catcher in the 1980s. He was born in Cua, Miranda, Venezuela. Defensively, Diaz was strong in every area of the game. He took responsibility for g, Manny TrilloJesus Manuel Marcano "Manny" Trillo (born December 25, 1950), also nicknamed Indio is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Oakland Athletics (1973-74), Chicago Cubs (1975-78, 1986-88), Philadelphia Phillies (1979-82), Cleveland, Gonzalo MárquezGonzalo Enrique Marquez Moya ( March 31, 1946 December 20, 1984), better known as Gonzalo Marquez [MAR-keth], was a Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played for the Oakland Athletics (1972-73) and Chicago Cubs (1973-74). He wa and Leo HernándezLeonardo Jesus Hernandez (b. November 6, 1959), best know as Leo Hernandez (er-NAN-dez), is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Baltimore Orioles (1982-83, 1985) and New York Yankees (1986). Hernandez wa. Galarraga started as an utility and three seasons later he was the regular first baseman. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe AlouFelipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935 in Haina, Dominican Republic) was a professional baseball player for the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, and Milwaukee Brewers. He has been also, 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.
1.2 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.
