Alfredo Despaigne
Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (born June 17, 1986) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (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 Nippon Professional Baseball (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 home run 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 Outstanding Player Award at the 2019 Japan Series. 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, 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 against the Yomiuri Giants, 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. 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, 2007 Baseball World Cup, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2009 World Baseball Classic, 2010 World University Baseball Championship, 2010 Intercontinental Cup, 2011 Pan American Games , 2012 exhibition games against Chinese Taipei and CPBL All-Stars, 2012 exhibition games against Japan, 2013 World Baseball Classic, 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, 2015 Pan American Games, 2015 WBSC Premier12 and 2017 World Baseball Classic. 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 at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despaigne won with his national team the gold medal of the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico.