Andrés Galarraga

Andrés Galarraga
Andrés Galarraga
	Galarraga with the Montreal Expos in 2002
	First baseman
	Born: June 18, 1961; 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
	Stats at Baseball Reference
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);
Member of the Venezuelan
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2010

Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (Spanish: [anˈdɾes ɣalaˈraɣa]; 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 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall, weighing 235 pounds (107 kg).

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.