Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Andres the Giant (sorry)
I really thought it was over, and it may yet be. Galarraga looked just about finished in Montreal last season and the Giants have other options at first base (though none of them are too good), so it's hard to see how he'll have much of an impact, though he could conceivably make the team. So while this is probably not a real impactful move in terms of 2003 (the Giants are going to get poor production from first base whether it's JT Snow, Damon Minor, Joe Vitiello or Andres Galarraga), it does give us cause to reflect on Andres' career one last time before he hangs it up, which I'm assuming he'll do soon...though he's certainly fooled me before, and is doing so again right now with his continued desire to suit up.

In a career that began in Montreal in 1985, Galarraga never really came into his own as dominant offensive force until he went to Colorado in 1993. I believe (I could be wrong about this) he was the first player in Rockies' history, as he signed with the team prior to the expansion draft. At the time...when I guess I was nine or ten years old...I was really excited about the Rockies entrance into the league and subscribed to their newsletter. I can't remember the name of the publication, which is bothering me...if you know it for some reason, let me know. Anyhow, I received periodic updates about the budding Rockies roster after the expansion draft, which of course included guys like new Indians manage Eric Wedge and the immortal David Nied. Galarraga was by far the biggest name at the time and got me excited about the new franchise's chances.

Anyway, Andres tore through his seasons in Colorado, revealed the wonders of Coors to the world and left as the best player in team history in 1997. While I wasn't involved at all in the sabermetric community at the time (or even aware of it), it was generally thought he'd come back down to earth in Atlanta and go back to being the good if unspectacular player he had been throughout his pre-Coors career. Of course, it didn't happen, and Galarraga went on to have two excellent seasons in Atlanta, with a one year hiatus in the middle recovering from cancer. Outside of his 49 game stretch for the Giants in late 2001, he hasn't been anything special since leaving Atlanta and his 30s behind. During his return engagement in Montreal last season, his play indicated that for the good of everyone involved, he should probably call it a career.

Somehow despite his excellent power numbers, particularly in his mid to late 30s, Galarraga never showed much plate discipline in his career, topping out with 63 walks in 1998 in what was probably his best overall season. We can only imagine if Andres had come to learn how to keep the bat on his shoulder a little (or a lot) earlier in his career. Either way, Galarraga was quite a dominant player in his day. He struck out a hell of a lot (topping 120 Ks in every season in which he played over 107 games), but that hulking body striding up to the plate was more than enough to scare the crap out of me. If he never takes the field again in a major league uniform, he'll finish with at .288/.347/.499 (that's an OPS of .846, for the very lazy) with nearly 400 home runs, 2500 hits, 1200 runs scored and 1400 RBIs (almost 2000 strikeouts too, for good measure). Of course, a whole bunch of those numbers are Coors-flated...but that's one hell of a run.

Whenever I think of Andres, I recall the really early days of my following of baseball in the late 80s. Growing up in New York, I'd often watch Met games and they'd often be playing the Expos. I always viewed Galarraga as being the nastiest, best opposing hitter the Mets faced...he seemed to do them in every time I watched. I hated him with a passion (even being a Yankee fan, I always liked to see the Mets win), but always respected his ability to change a game with one swing of the bat.

Not everyone can be a Hall-of-Famer, so some guys have to settle for just being five-time All-Stars, winning two Gold Gloves, a batting title and finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting six times. If this is it for Galarraga, it's been an enjoyable run and a terrific career.
posted by VZW Watcher at 8:58 PM -