Galarraga Retires One Homer From 400

Andres Galarraga retired Tuesday after a subpar spring training with the New York Mets, leaving him a home run shy of 400 for his career.

The 43-year-old first baseman signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the off-season after making his second successful return from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last season.

A five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in a 19-year career, Galarraga was hitting .235 in 17 games for the Mets this spring, with three home runs and seven runs batted in. “The Big Cat” probably would have been left off the 25-man roster when the team broke camp.

“This is a sad day for me, but I honestly felt it was the right time to step away,” Galarraga said. “I just wasn’t playing up to the expectations that I have set for myself throughout my entire career, and I wanted to walk away on my own terms.”

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Pedro Martinez threw 83 pitches against Met minor leaguers, four days after missing a start because of a lower-back strain, and said he planned to start the season opener.

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Major League Baseball’s medical adviser, who praised baseball’s steroid policy and challenged its critics while testifying before Congress, has discrepancies in biographical statements about his credentials, according to a newspaper report.

The discrepancies appear in media guides and handouts with information about Dr. Elliot J. Pellman, an internist who is also team doctor for the New York Jets and the New York Islanders, the New York Times reported.

Pellman, also a former president of the National Football League Physicians Society, told the New York Times he had not tried to mislead anybody and called the errors as minor.

Pellman’s biography in the Jets’ media guide states that he has a medical degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

But the Times report said state records show Pellman attended medical school in Guadalajara and received a medical degree from the New York State Education Department after a one-year residency at SUNY Stony Brook.

And in papers sent to Harvard University for a seminar and to the House Committee on Government Reform, which held hearings on steroids in baseball two weeks ago, Pellman identified himself as an associate clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

But he is an assistant clinical professor, a lower-ranking and honorary position that is held by thousands of doctors.

The New York Times reviewed Pellman’s credentials after his nationally televised appearance before the House committee on March 17. He was added to the hearing at the request of Major League Baseball and staunchly defended baseball’s steroid policies.

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The Washington Nationals sent outfielder Endy Chavez to triple-A New Orleans.... The Milwaukee Brewers released right-handed reliever Brooks Kieschnick, who was a pitcher and an outfielder for the team the last two seasons.... Former Arizona third baseman Matt Williams announced he is becoming a partner in the Diamondbacks and will invest $3 million in the club over the next 10 years.

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The Cat With the Bat

Andres Galarraga retired Tuesday one home run shy of 400 for his career. A look at his key numbers:

* Age: 43.

* Seasons: 19 with seven teams (Montreal, St. Louis, Colorado, Atlanta, Texas, San Francisco, Montreal, San Francisco, Angels).

* All-Star selections: 5.

* Gold Gloves: 2.

* Career batting average: .288.

* Doubles: 444.

* Runs: 1,195.

* Home runs: 399.