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

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 catch ...

for the

Alazanes de Granma Alazanes de Granma is a baseball team in the Cuban National Series, based in the eastern province of Granma. Until the 2016-2017 season, the Alazanes were a frequent contender, but had never advanced to a National Series final. However, in 2017 ...

of the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

. He has previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

and the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

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 The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. 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

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

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On February 11, 2017, Despaigne signed with

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 , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, 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 a ...

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

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, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 h ...

, 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 Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. ...

against the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

. However, he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

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. On May 31, 2023, Despaigne re-signed with the Hawks. However, he joined the team in July but was limited to only 20 appearances. On December 1, the Hawks announced they would release him.

Alazanes de Granma

Despaigne played the 2024 Cuban National Series for the

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 th ...

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

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

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 () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

, 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 the ...

and CPBL All-Stars, 2012 exhibition games against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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

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 The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

, 2015 WBSC Premier12 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 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

. 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, ...

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 b ...

of the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
{{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 for Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Piratas de Campeche players Baseball players from Santiago de Cuba Vequeros de Pinar del Rio players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2009 Baseball World Cup players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2023 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 Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico