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Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition

Andrés Galarraga

by Michael Adams

Venezuelan-born baseball player

Galarraga, one of the biggest baseball stars ever from Venezuela, returned triumphantly after missing a season with cancer.

Latino heritage: Venezuelan

Born: June 18, 1961; Caracas, Venezuela

Also known as: Andrés José Padovani Galarraga; Big Cat

Area of achievement: Baseball

EARLY LIFE

Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (ahn-DREHS GAHlah-RAH-gah) was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 18, 1961. He began his professional baseball career at age sixteen in the Venezuelan Winter League, playing for Leones del Caracas along with such future major leaguers as Tony Armas, Bo Diaz, and Manny Trillo. On the recommendation of manager Felipe Alou, the Montreal Expos signed the young first baseman in 1979, even though some scouts felt he was too heavy to be a prospect.

LIFE’S WORK

Galarraga’s talents were slow to develop, and he played seven seasons in the minor leagues, being named the most valuable player in the Class-AASouthern League in 1984 and rookie of the year in the Class-AAA International League the following season. He was called up by the Expos at the end of the 1985 season but hit only .187 in twenty-four games. Galarraga was named the Expos’ starting first baseman in 1986, but knee and rib injuries forced him to miss fifty-seven games.

Galarraga fulfilled his potential in 1987 by batting .305 and driving in ninety runs. He also improved defensively, prompting Whitey Herzog, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, to call him the best-fielding righthanded first baseman Herzog had seen since Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950’s. Galarraga’s graceful movements, unusual for someone 6-feet, 3-inches tall, weighing 235 pounds, earned him the nickname “the Big Cat.” He emerged as Montreal’s main offensive threat in 1988 with 29 home runs, 92 runs batted in, 99 runs, and a .302 batting average. He led the National League with 42 doubles and 184 hits.

Galarraga’s batting average dropped to .257 and .256 the following two seasons, and he led the league in strikeouts each season from 1988 through 1990. He remained steady as a fielder, winning Gold Gloves as the best at his position in 1989 and 1990. Hobbled by knee and hamstring injuries, he missed fifty-five games in 1991 and batted only .219, resulting in his trade to the Cardinals.

Galarraga continued to struggle with the Cardinals because of a broken wrist but impressed hitting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became manager of the expansion Colorado Rockies in 1993, he suggested the team sign Galarraga as a free agent. Galarraga responded by putting up impressive offensive statistics during his five seasons with the Rockies, leading the National League in batting with a .370 average in 1993; in home runs with 47 in 1996; and in runs batted in with 150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997. His .370 average was the highest ever by a player from Venezuela and the highest by a righthanded hitter in the major leagues since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in 1939. His improvement as a hitter was attributed to Baylor’s adjusting his stance so that he could react more quickly to inside pitches. The Sporting News named Galarraga comeback player of the year for 1993.

The thin air in mile-high Denver was said to have contributed to inflated statistics for Rockies players, especially during the team’s first seasons. However, Galarraga proved he could produce elsewhere when he was signed by the Atlanta Braves in 1998. He hit 44 home runs, drove in 121 runs, and batted .305, becoming the first major leaguer to accumulate 40 or more home runs in consecutive seasons with different teams.

Galarraga was bothered by a lower back pain toward the end of the 1998 season, and the problem intensified during the 1999 spring training. He was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer and missed the entire season to receive chemotherapy treatment. Galarraga was especially shaken by this diagnosis because his father had died seven years earlier from pancreatic cancer. After his medications caused his weight to balloon to 265 pounds, Galarraga hired a personal trainer to prepare for his return to baseball. He rejoined the Braves in 2000 and delivered another outstanding season, with 28 home runs, 100 runs batted in, and a .302 average, becoming the first person to be named comeback player of the year twice.

Andrés Galarraga (Roger H. Rangel via Wikimedia Commons)

GLLatin2e_p0419_1.jpg

Galarraga signed with the Texas Rangers for 2001 and experienced a decline in his productivity. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants that July, returned to Montreal in 2002, and went back to San Francisco in 2003, compiling a .301 average as a part-time first baseman and pinch hitter. His cancer returned in 2004, and he was hospitalized for twenty-three days. He recovered again, signed with the Anaheim Angels, and finished his career with seven games at the end of the season. He went to spring training with the New York Mets in 2005 but discovered his defensive skills had diminished and retired before the season began.

SIGNIFICANCE

Galarraga was one of the most outgoing players of his era, with a constant, charismatic smile. His personality combined with his baseball achievements made him Venezuela’s biggest sports hero since the heyday of Luis Aparicio in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was the subject of a 2000 documentary, Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing but Baseball). Galarraga hit 399 home runs in the major leagues, drove in 1,425 runs, and had a career batting average of .288. He played in eighteen postseason games with the Rockies, Braves, and Giants, became the first member of the Rockies to be elected to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and coached the Venezuelan national team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Further Reading

1 

Kindred, Dave. “The Passion Behind the Smile.” Sporting News 224, no. 18 (May 1, 2000): 62. Describes how Galarraga’s positive personality helped him during his illness.

2 

Starr, Mark, and Vern E. Smith. “The Big C Beats the Big C.” Newsweek 135, no. 20 (May 15, 2000): 56. Account of Galarraga’s recovery from cancer.

3 

Vecsey, George. “The Princely Smile Says Galarraga, the Big Cat, Is Back.” The New York Times, February 16, 2005, p. D1. Details Galarraga’s second bout with cancer.

See also: Roberto Alomar; Sandy Alomar, Jr.; Bobby Bonilla; José Canseco; Julio Franco; Ozzie Guillén.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Adams, Michael. "Andrés Galarraga." Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition, edited by Trudy Mercadal, et al., Salem Press, 2021. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GLLatin2e_0226.
APA 7th
Adams, M. (2021). Andrés Galarraga. In T. Mercadal, C. Tafolla & M. P. Cotera (Eds.), Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Adams, Michael. "Andrés Galarraga." Edited by Trudy Mercadal, Carmen Tafolla & Martha P. Cotera. Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2021. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.