About Andrés Galarraga
Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (Spanish: [anˈdɾes ɣalaˈraɣa]; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels. He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall, weighing 235 pounds (107 kg). 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 despite 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 Awards, the second time after returning to baseball after treatment for cancer. Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (Spanish:; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, St. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges." In 1988, Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.