caption finalyear bats birth_place debutyear finaldate statvalue image_size position finalteam statlabel debutdate birth_date image article_title debutteam name throws
galarraga in 2002 2004 right caracas , venezuela 1985 october 3 .288 399 2,333 1,425 250px first baseman anaheim angels batting average home runs hits runs batted in august 23 18 june 1961 andres galarraga2002.jpg andrés galarraga
 montreal expos andrés galarraga right
andrés galarraga

andrés josé padovani galarraga -lrb- ; born june 18 , 1961 -rrb- is a former major league baseball first baseman who played for the montreal expos -lrb- -- and -rrb- , st. louis cardinals -lrb- -rrb- , colorado rockies -lrb- -- -rrb- , atlanta braves -lrb- - -rrb- , texas rangers -lrb- -rrb- , san francisco giants -lrb- 2001 and -rrb- and anaheim angels -lrb- -rrb- .
he batted and threw right-handed .
at six-foot-three and 235 pounds -lrb- 1.91 m , 117 kg -rrb- , galarraga began his professional career in venezuela at the 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 -lrb- textually translated from english as `` el gran gato '' , although his nickname in his native venezuela was el gato -rrb- 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 .
