Andres Galarraga To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. Please discuss this issue on the talk page, or replace this tag with a more specific message. Editing help is available. This article has been tagged since August 2005. Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (born June 18, 1961 in Caracas, Venezuela) was a 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 (1.91 m, 117 kg), Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at 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 (El Gato Grande) for his extraordinary quickness at first base in spite of his big frame. 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.
