The captain of the Cuban team in the past World Baseball Classic, Alfredo Despaigne, formalized this Monday his contract with the SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese League (NPB). According to the portal Full Swingthe pre-agreement “ was around the figure of 1.5 million dollars“, although the final amount was not disclosed.
In November 2021, the treasurer of the Cuban Federation, Luis Daniel Del Risco, reported that the teams that hire Cuban baseball players must pay 20% of the salary that the athlete receives. To this must be added, according to data from the official Gazette From 2021, all athletes hired abroad must pay a 4% tax on what they receive.
Despaigne had said that “I no longer had plans to return to Japan”, where he spent six years defending the team that has finally hired him again. The agreement is for the remainder of the season, the player stressed. “In the years that I was there we were four times consecutive champions and we hope that this year the fifth crown will be repeated”, pointed to the journalist Guillermo Rodríguez Hidalgo.
The signing of the Granma native, who has 184 home runs in the Japanese Baseball League, was held in the Adolfo Luque Hall of the Latinoamericano stadium and was attended by the president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, Juan Reinaldo Pérez.
This player has a batting average of .263, with 184 home runs and 545 RBIs. His base-earning average over total number of batting opportunities is .842, plus 786. hits.
Alfredo Despaigne’s best season in the NPB was recorded in 2017, with an average of 262, connecting 35 long balls and 103 RBIs.
This Monday, the contract of Cuban outfielder Alexey Lumpuy with the American team Chicago Cubs was also made official. Born in Camagüey and at the age of 18, he left the island a year ago. He is an “explosive” athlete, with arm strength and good throwing speed, commented journalist Francys Romero. “He is the 23rd player to sign in the current international period,” the reporter stressed. in their social networks.
The Chicago Cubs also hosted 19-year-old switch-hitter Eriandys Ramón. This Cuban athlete is part of the country’s wave of dropouts in 2022. He was on the U-15 World Cup team in 2018 and was currently part of the Ray Castillo Academy in the Dominican Republic.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
