Andrés Galarraga Atlanta Braves (1998-2000) What position did he play with the Braves? I don't know. What was his role with the Braves? He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI.
How many seasons was he with the Braves?
How many seasons was Andrés Galarraga with the Braves?
During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams.  During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight.  Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.  At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News.  Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER
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Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood  tall, weighing .

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 in spite of 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 Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment.

Career

Venezuelan Winter League
Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas  as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally.

Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League.

Minor leagues
In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians ().

Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his  major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year.

Montreal Expos (1985–1991)
Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games.

Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong  season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges."

In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season.

 was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base.

Galarraga's  season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run.

Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill.

St. Louis Cardinals (1992)
Galarraga had a second chance with the  Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent.

Colorado Rockies (1993–1997)

National League batting champion (1993)

By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a  season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in .

Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race.

Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

In the strike-shortened  season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI.

On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the  Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0.

Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between  and  (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over .

NL RBI leader (1997)
Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium.  It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at  and then .  At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled  and  respectively, totaling , an average of  each.

The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta Braves (1998–2000)
In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams.

During  spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI.  On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight.

In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.

At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News.

Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought.

Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003)
The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season.

In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI.

Anaheim Angels (2004)
In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career.

New York Mets (2005)

In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement.

Highlights
 Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988)
 Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988)
 Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988)
 Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988)
 Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988)
 Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993)
 Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996)
 Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997)
 Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038)
 Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444)
 Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399)
 Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425)
 Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875)
 Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106)
 Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted)
 Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves)
 The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves)
 First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993)
 Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5.
 His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies.
 Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons
 Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997)
 Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards
 Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000)
 Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003)
 Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010)

See also

 List of athletes on Wheaties boxes
 List of Colorado Rockies team records
 List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
 List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
 Major League Baseball titles streaks
 Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

References

External links

Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac
Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library
Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ
Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News

1961 births
Anaheim Angels players
Atlanta Braves players
Calgary Expos players
Colorado Rockies players
Gold Glove Award winners
Indianapolis Indians players
Jacksonville Suns players
Jamestown Expos players
Leones del Caracas players
Living people
Louisville Redbirds players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
Montreal Expos players
National League All-Stars
National League batting champions
National League home run champions
National League RBI champions
Salt Lake Stingers players
San Francisco Giants players
Silver Slugger Award winners
Sportspeople from Caracas
Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida
St. Louis Cardinals players
Texas Rangers players
Venezuela national baseball team people
Venezuelan baseball coaches
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States
West Palm Beach Expos players
The 2003 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 38th season in Atlanta and 133rd overall. The Braves won their 9th consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins. The Braves lost the 2003 Divisional Series to the Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 2. The Braves finished 2003 with their best offensive season in franchise history, hitting a franchise record 235 home runs. Atlanta also had one of the most noteworthy combined offensive outfield productions in league history. 

The Braves' starting rotation had new faces in 2003, but aged pitchers. Opposite of what they were traditionally known for in years earlier. Greg Maddux was joined by trade acquisitions Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, free agent Shane Reynolds and rookie Horacio Ramírez. Critics noted had Atlanta had a younger staff with this offense, they would've been more likely to win the World Series. Marcus Giles had an All-Star season as the Braves' second baseman and Gary Sheffield as the Braves' right fielder. Sheffield finished with a top 5 voting in NL MVP voting. 2003 also marked the last season for Maddux, ending his tenure in Atlanta after 11 seasons.

Offseason
 November 18, 2002: Mike Hampton was traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker (minors) and Tim Spooneybarger. (Hampton had been traded to the Marlins from the Colorado Rockies on November 16, 2002) 
 November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
 December 16, 2002: Ray King was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for John Foster and Wes Helms.
 December 17, 2002: Russ Ortiz was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez.
 December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. (Byrd did not play for the Braves in 2003)
 December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
 December 20, 2002: Johnny Estrada was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood.
 January 6, 2003: Robert Fick signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. 
 January 8, 2003: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
 January 23, 2003: Roberto Hernandez signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
 April 10, 2003: Shane Reynolds signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.

Regular season
 In 2003, John Smoltz set a Major League record (since tied) by having 34 saves before the All-Star Break.
 May 23, 2003 – During the Atlanta Braves 15-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Braves players Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs to start the game.
 On August 10, 2003, Rafael Furcal of the Braves had an unassisted triple play. He caught the liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner going back to first base.

Opening Day starters

Season standings

National League East

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions
 August 29, 2003: Jaret Wright was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves from the San Diego Padres.
 Notable draft signings in 2003 include Jarrod Saltalamacchia (36th overall) and Jonny Venters (30th round).

Roster

Player stats

Batting
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

N/A

Relief pitchers

2003 National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs
Chicago wins the series, 3-2

Award winners
2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rome, GCL Braves

References

 2003 Atlanta Braves at Baseball Reference

National League East champion seasons
Atlanta Braves seasons
Atlanta Braves Season, 2003
Atlanta Braves Season, 2003
Atlanta Clint Joseph Sammons (born May 15, 1983) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Atlanta Braves from 2007 to 2009.

Amateur career
A native of Lilburn, Georgia, Sammons attended Parkview High School, and was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 43rd round of the 2001 MLB Draft. He did not sign with them however, and instead played college baseball at the University of Georgia, where he was starting catcher. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Braves in the 6th round of the 2004 MLB Draft and eventually signed with the Braves.

Professional career
Sammons began his professional career with the Braves Rookie team, the Danville Braves. He played for the Single-A Rome Braves in  and was selected to the South Atlantic League midseason All-Star team. The Braves organization named Sammons as the Rome Braves Player of the Year. In 121 games with the Rome Braves, he batted .286 with 4 home runs. In , he spent the entire season with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

In , he began the season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans again. After 23 games with the Pelicans, he was promoted to the Double-A Mississippi Braves. He went on the finish the minor league season at Mississippi. On September 11, 2007, the Braves added him to the major league roster as the fourth catcher when they purchased his contract. The next day, he made his major league debut as a defensive replacement. He got his first two Major League hits on September 30, the last day of the season, which included a double. He hit his first Major League home run on July 31, 2008. Sammons became a free agent at the end of the 2009 season. He signed a one-year minor league contract with the Braves for the 2010 season, then signed two one year, minor league deals with the Miami Marlins for the 2011-2012 seasons.

References

External links

1983 births
Living people
Baseball players from Atlanta
Major League Baseball catchers
Georgia Bulldogs baseball players
Cotuit Kettleers players
Danville Braves players
Rome Braves players
Myrtle Beach Pelicans players
Mississippi Braves players
Richmond Braves players
Gwinnett Braves players
Gulf Coast Marlins players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Atlanta Braves players
Peoria Javelinas players