토토사이트 SoftBank Hawks against Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium on the 22nd. SoftBank Hawks foreign-born batsman Alfredo Despaigne (37) batted fifth and went hitless in four at-bats. In his first start in four games, he was too lethargic.
His two at-bats in the second and fourth innings came with the bases loaded. He grounded out to shortstop, then struck out swinging. The other two at-bats, when he needed a hit, went nowhere.
Down 2-5 in the top of the seventh. Gensuke Kondo, the leadoff hitter, hit a double to right field. With two outs, he was hit by a changeup that left-hander Keisuke Sawada dropped down low outside. At 1B2S, his bat sliced through the air on the pitch.
Trailing by one run in the top of the eighth, 3-5, the bases were loaded in front of Despaigne. One hit was all it took to turn the tide. The pitcher for Chiba Lotte was right-hander Luis Perdomo.
The anticipation quickly turned to disappointment. Despaigne’s pitch went straight to the left-field fence.
The 3-5 loss was SoftBank’s second straight. “It’s a shame,” said SoftBank manager Hiroshi Fujimoto, and sighed deeply.
The gap to second-placed Chiba Lotte is now 3.5 games. They are third in the Pacific League, 11 games behind the Oryx Buffaloes. The Oryx have lost three straight league games.
SoftBank’s Cuban-born slugger Despine. Photo credit: SoftBank Hawks Social Media
SoftBank, which has been struggling with a batting slump, signed Despine in the middle of the season. He was brought in to replace the “Cuban Express” who left the team at the end of last season. The team was in need of offensive reinforcements.
Despine, who joined the team in June after playing in the Cuban league, was not the same player. He was too far removed from the player he was at his peak.
Despaigne went hitless in 27 consecutive at-bats until the 22nd against Chiba Lotte. After a hit against the Rakuten Eagles on 9 July, he went silent. As of the 22nd, he was 3-for-34 with an 8-for-8 batting average. No home runs, no RBIs, and nine strikeouts.
Despaigne joined the Chiba Lotte in July 2014. He had a breakout season in Nippon Professional Baseball.
He hit 54 home runs and 187 RBIs in three years with Chiba Lotte before moving to SoftBank in 2017. He signed a three-year, 1.2 billion yen contract. It was a Japan Dream come true.
He hit 100 home runs and 265 RBIs in three years between 2017 and 2019. In 2017, his first year with the team, he led the league in home runs with 36 and RBIs with 103.
He left Nippon Professional Baseball with 184 career home runs until last year. He has been on a downward spiral in the past few years.
SoftBank players in training. Photo credit: SoftBank Hawks SNS
was. Last season, he batted .269 (80-for-297) with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs in 89 games.
Despine represented Cuba at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), and the 2015 and 2017 Premier12.