Last month, I ordered some lucky bags from an online sports card shop. When those lucky bags arrived, I couldn’t wait to open them. When I opened the second lucky bag, I found an interesting card.
It’s an Andres Galarraga autograph card. And it seems that it’s from the Topps Archives. It’s a numbered card. For me, this card looks really cool. Growing up, I frequently watched him crush home runs when he was playing for the Rockies. I knew that he was a dangerous hitter in the majors. Looking at this card, I began to look back at Galarraga’s career.
Galarraga made his MLB debut in 1985 and played his last game in the majors in 2004. In total, he spent 19 seasons in the majors, slashing .288/.347/.499 with 399 home runs and 1425 RBI. Unfortunately, he didn’t join the 400-home run club. However, 399 home runs ranked 59th most at this moment. Moreover, 1425 RBI ranked 70th most of all time thus far.
His career looks pretty good. Additionally, if we look back at the days from 1994 to 1998, things are even more impressive.
From 1994 to 1998, Galarraga collected 838 hits, ranking 10th in the majors. During those 5 seasons, Dante Bichette was the only hitter with 900+ hits. At the same time, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn had 889 hits in those 5 seasons. Craig Biggio and Albert Belle each collected 881 hits during the same period. And Mo Vaughn had 865 hits in those 5 seasons.
In addition, let’s take a look at home run leaders from 1994 to 1998. Mark McGwire blasted 228 home runs in those 5 seasons. In the meantime, Ken Griffey Jr. smashed 218 home runs. Albert Belle and Sammy Sosa each crushed 200+ home runs in the same period as well. From 1994 to 1998, Andres Galarraga had 194 home runs. He finished each season with more than 30 home runs.
Finally, let’s look at the RBI leaders in those 5 seasons. Albert Belle collected 643 RBI from 1994 to 1998. At the same time, Dante Bichette had 604 RBI and Andres Galarraga collected 600+ RBI as well. Juan Gonzalez had 599 RBI during the same period. Hall of Famer Frank Thomas had 580 RBI from 1994 to 1998.
Looking back at Galarraga’s career, it’s not easy to spend 10+ years in the majors. Moreover, he collected 2333 hits, which isn’t easy. Furthermore, he’s now in the top 100 of all-time in home runs and in RBI. In particular, from 1994 to 1998, he was certainly one of the most dangerous hitters in the majors. He was top 5 in home runs in those 5 seasons. Meanwhile, from 1996 to 1998, he finished each season with 40+ home runs. Additionally, he was one of the only 3 hitters with 600+ RBI from 1994 to 1998. In 1996 and 1997, he finished each season with at least 140 RBI. Well, Galarraga wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame. Nonetheless, his career numbers are very good, really.
No comments:
Post a Comment