Alfredo Despaigne, 2017 Best Player of Cuban Baseball

Alfredo Despaigne, nicknamed ‘The Horse’ in the national and international baseball events in which Cuba has participated in years, became a member of the national champion of Cuba, Granma, and was a member of the Japanese national pro baseball champ Softbank Falcons.

He hit a total of 35 homeruns this season in Japan, with 103 runs batted in. These became records for the regular season at the Japanese Pacific League.

The Cuban baseball authorities selected team Granma -now the Cuban national champion- as Best team of the Year, and their manager Carlos Marti, as Best Manager, respectively.

Granma was the Cuban representative at the 2017 Caribbean Baseball Series in Mexico, managed by Marti, who also was the manager of the Cuban national team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

As Best Junior Player of the Year, player Cesar Prieto (batting average champion in the 28th under 18 years in the Canadian city of Thunder Bay) was chosen, after compiling 581 for a batting average -18 hits for 31 times at bat- and as second baseman, was selected the best of the tournament and a member of the All Stars Team of the competition.

The Award for Best Rookie of the Year, went to the hands of Eliecer Griñán (Ciego de Ávila). The Best Umpire, Jorge Niebla, for his results in national and international tournaments.

The list of the best 10 Cuban baseball players of the year was completed with Yurisbel Gracial (Matanzas), Lázaro Blanco (Granma), Liván Moinelo (Pinar del Río), Roel Santos (Granma), Yordan Manduley (Holguín), Alexander Ayala (Camaguey), Miguel Lahera (Artemisa), Carlos Benítez (Granma), Frank Camilo Morejon (Industriales) and Yordanis Samón (Industriales).