Andres galarraga son

Andrés Jose Padovani Galarraga was known as the Big Cat, or El Gran Gato, during his 19-year major-league baseball career, a career in which he became the Colorado Rockies’ first big star. He looked like a slugger but what made him so popular, and helped secure his nickname, was his quickness around the first-base bag. Along the way he helped establish the Rockies’ tradition of great infield defense.

Galarraga was the first of the “Blake Street Bombers” and one of the key reasons the Rockies established a major-league record for attendance during their first year and by year three were in the playoffs.

During his big-league career, he hit 399 home runs, became a five-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Comeback Player of the Year. Most importantly, Galarraga is a two-time cancer survivor.

When his career ended in 2005, after a brief stint with the New York Mets in spring training, he had hit more home runs than any native Venezuelan (since broken by Miguel Cabrera) and was considered a national hero in his native land.1

Andrés Galarraga

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