Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (Spanish: [anˈdɾes ɣalaˈraɣa]; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (1985–1991 and 2002), St. Louis Cardinals (1992), Colorado Rockies (1993–1997), Atlanta Braves (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), San Francisco Giants (2001 and 2003) and Anaheim Angels (2004).

Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández.

[1] Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong 1987 season.

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.

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.

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.

Galarraga had a second chance with the 1992 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.

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.

Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award.

In the strike-shortened 1994 season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month.

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 450 feet (140 m).

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.

The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton.

On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer.

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.

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.

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.

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 Stingers.

In 2005, 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 three 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.