Andrés Galarraga

Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) 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. During his playing days, Galarraga stood tall, weighing .

Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. 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 despite his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Awards, the second time after returning to baseball after treatment for cancer.

Career

Venezuelan Winter League Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At the time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally. Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from the Venezuelan Winter League.

Minor leagues In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos , Jacksonville Suns , and Indianapolis Indians . Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI).

Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between and (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304.318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga's achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over .

NL RBI leader (1997) Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run, with a distance initially measured at and then changed to . At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. But in 2017, the Baseball Research Journal published an analysis by Jose L. Lopez PhD, and Oscar A. Lopez PhD—professors of Engineering at the Central University of Venezuela—that concluded that Galarraga's home run travelled between 517.5 and 529.4 feet. This makes Galarraga's May 31, 1997 grand slam one of the few pre-Statcast home runs to have been proven to have traveled over 500 feet. He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Galarraga ranked 36th all-time in career home runs at the time of his retirement.

Highlights Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988) Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988) Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988) Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988) Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988) Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993) Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996) Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997) Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038) Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444) Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399) Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425) Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875) Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106) Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 (first Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted) Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves) The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves) First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993) Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5. His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies. Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997) Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000) Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003) Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010)