Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (born June 17, 1986) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who is a free agent. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Career

In 2009, Despaigne had one of the most dominating seasons in Cuban baseball history, breaking the Cuban Home Run record while hitting .373 with 97 RBIs. Following the season, he was named MVP of the National Series. Despaigne was again excellent in 2010, ranking among the best hitters in various statistical categories. In 2012, he set a new Cuban league regular-season home run record, with 35.

Piratas de Campeche

On June 21, 2013, Despaigne signed with the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. In 33 games, he slashed .338/.364/.564 with 8 home runs and 24 RBI. In 2014, Despaigne played in 20 games for Campeche, batting .346/.407/.603 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On July 15, 2014, he signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the

(NPB). Despaigne appeared in 45 games, hitting .311, with 12 home runs and 33 runs batted in. After the season, on December 8, the Marines signed him to a two-year contract. In the 2015 season, Despaigne finished the regular season in 103 games with a batting average of .258, 18 home runs and a RBI of 62. In the 2016 season, Despaigne finished the regular season in 134 games with a batting average of .280, 24 home runs and a RBI of 92. On December 20, 2016, it was announced that team did not make a contract offer and next day he became free agent in NPB. In 2017, Despaigne played a key role in Granma's win of the Cuban National Series.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On February 11, 2017, Despaigne signed with Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the NPB. In 2017 season, Despaigne finished the regular season in 136 games with a batting average of .262, 35 home runs and a RBI of 103. And he was honored for the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

leader, the Pacific League RBI leader, and the Pacific League Best Nine Award at the NPB AWARDS 2017. In the 2018 season, Despaigne finished the regular season in 116 games with a batting average of .238, 29 home runs and a RBI of 74. And he was selected . In 2019, Despaigne finished the regular season in 130 games with a batting average of .259, 36 home runs and a RBI of 88. And he was honored for the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

Outstanding Player Award at the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

. On December 2, 2019, he become free agent. On January 22, 2020, Despaigne signed a new two-year contract with Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. However, due to the influence of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, he was unable to leave Cuba and was able to come to Japan on July 19. In the 2020 season, Despaigne finished the regular season in 25 games with a batting average of .224, 6 home runs and a RBI of 12.　In the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, he contributed to the team's fourth consecutive Japan Series champion by scoring 6 RBIs per game in the Japan Series equal to the current record, including a grand slam in Game 2 on November 22. In 2021 season, Despaigne had a slump of .220 batting average, one home run, and six runs batted in in 27 games since the season opener, and was struck from the first team registration on May 3. Then, on May 24, he left for the U.S. to join the Cuba national baseball team for the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers. He returned to Japan on June 9, spent the prescribed quarantine period, and joined the team on August 1. In the match against the Chiba Lotte Marines on August 21, he recorded his first home run since the opening game. He returned to form in the second half of the season, and by September 30 his batting average was back up to .271. He finished the regular season with a .264 batting average, 10 home runs, and 41 RBI in 80 games, and re-signed with the Hawks at an estimated salary of 270 million yen. In 2022 season, Despaigne did not make it to the opening game of the season after hurting his right ankle in the Cuban League. He finally joined the team on May 17. On June 3, he recorded his first home run of the season in the interleague play against the Chunichi Dragons. However, he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was again removed from the first team registration by regulation on June 28. He returned to the team on July 13 and hit a two-run homer the next day, July 14, against the Orix Buffaloes. He finished the regular season with a .269 batting average, 14 home runs, and 40 runs batted in in 89 games, despite his frequent departures. He became a free agent following the 2022 season.

International career

Despaigne posted an impressive season in 2007, afterwards earning a key role on Cuba's National Team. He was selected the ,

2007 World Port Tournament The 2007 World Port Tournament was an international baseball competition held at the DOOR Neptunus Familiestadion in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from August 2–12, 2007. It was the 11th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Ta ...

2007 Baseball World Cup The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

2010 World University Baseball Championship The 2010 World University Baseball Championship was an under-23 college baseball competition held at ''Meiji Jingu Stadium'' in Shinjuku, ''Yokohama Stadium'' in Naka-ku, Yokohama, ''Utsumi-Shimaoka Ballpark'' in Fuchū and ''KAIT Stadium'' in At ...

, 2010 Intercontinental Cup,

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, 2012 exhibition games against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

and CPBL All-Stars, 2012 exhibition games against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

2014 Central American and Caribbean Games The 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games were held November 14–30, 2014 in Veracruz, Mexico.Sport page

,
2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
,
2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...
and
2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...
. He was named the Best Hitter at the 2007 World Port Tournament, and was also a part of the Cuban team which won a
silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despaigne won with his national team the
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
of the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico.

References

External links
* *
Career statistics - NPB.jp
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Despaigne, Alfredo 1986 births Living people Alazanes de Granma players Avispas de Santiago de Cuba players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Chiba Lotte Marines players Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders Olympic baseball players of Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Pan American Games medalists in baseball Piratas de Campeche players Sportspeople from Santiago de Cuba Vequeros de Pinar del Rio players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games