After some impressive years in Montreal in the 80s, as well as some even more bombastic years in Colorado and Atlanta during the 90s, Andres Galarraga, affectionately known as El Grande Gato, had a bit of a tumultuous final few years. Not that he played poorly, he just...was everywhere.
Galarraga played parts of two seasons with the Giants, made a well-documented return to Montreal in 2002, and sort of bopped around otherwise.
In a moment where Topps pictured him as either a Brave or a Giant in 2001, Galarraga snuck out to Arlington for the first half of the season. Despite being in a lineup with Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and Alex Rodriguez, Galarraga's numbers were underwhelming, hitting .235 with 34 RBIs and 10 home runs in 72 games, a far cry from even his 2000 numbers with Atlanta. Midyear, Galarraga would be traded to San Francisco, and that bit would get the Topps card.
2002 and 2003 would be comparatively well documented, in SF and Montreal. For all intents and purposes, Galarraga's career ends in San Fran in 2003, and in Topps' eyes it does.
And yet it keeps going for a slight bit longer. Galarraga would sit most of the 2004 season out, thanks to not being approached for a deal in the spring, but in August he began talks with the Anaheim Angels, who were doing well enough with Vladimir Guerrero's first year on the team, but struggling otherwise. So they signed Galarraga to a deal, and for 7 games in September, El Grande Gato was back at it once again. He did pretty well, too, hitting .300 with 2 RBIs, including his final home run, leaving him at 399 as a career total.
And that could have been a humble, amusing way for Galarraga to go out. He was 43, his temples had fully greyed, he'd had a long, prosperous career with a batting title, 2 gold gloves and 2 silver sluggers...but he wanted to try for one more year.
YEP. ISN'T THIS WEIRD?
Galarraga signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets prior to the 2005 season, as an invitation to Spring Training. While he didn't make the team, he did get to have one last spring training experience as a player, and got to be a mentor figure, at 44, to young players like David Wright, Mike Pelfrey and Heath Bell.
I know Topps never would have made a card for him in 2005 given this stint, but...they made one for Roberto Alomar, and he didn't last past camp with Tampa.
Galarraga may not have been a Hall of Famer, but he was a fun player for a long period of time. So even the smallest bit to add to his legacy helps.
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