Alfredo Despaigne Signs One More Year with SoftBank Hawks

December 4, 2021

Cuban baseball player Alfredo Despaigne signed to continue for one more year in the Japanese league. Sports journalist Francys Romero said today that Despaigne would have accepted a one-year contract with the SoftBank Hawks for the respectable sum of 2.5 million dollars.

According to Romero, Despaigne at 35 years old had previously stated his intention to play in Caribbean leagues, seeking to be closer to his family in Cuba, after eight full seasons in the Japanese league.

After saying yes to one more year in Professional Japanese Baseball, the Cuban will play in 2022 his ninth season in Asian lands.

Alfredo Despaigne became in 2021 the Cuban baseball player with the most home runs in the Japanese League. During his time in Japan, the Cuban has played for at least two franchises, first the Chiba Lotte Marines and currently the SoftBank Hawks, where he has been instrumental in recent years.

The "horse of horses," as he is known in Cuba, for wearing the uniform of the Los Alazanes de Granma team, would be on vacation on the island at this time, according to Romero's report. That reporter even does not rule out that the slugger sees action with his provincial team in the next 61st National Series before joining the SoftBank Hawks in the spring.

Regarding his new contract, the sports press recalls that Alfredo Despaigne experienced "a resurgence at the end of 2021," proof of his high quality as a baseball player and a quite probable reason for the SoftBank Hawks management to give him a new vote of confidence at 35 years old.

Despaigne finished the season with an offensive line of .264/.373/.437, 10 home runs and 41 RBIs.