Cuban slugger leads Japanese baseball in homers and RBIs

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 18 (acn) With two RBIs in the last game, Cuban Alfredo Despaigne, who plays for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the Japanese Professional Baseball League (NPB), now totals 99 and is the current leader of that statistic on the Pacific Circuit.

This is a new record for Despaigne in NPB, since his biggest amount of RBIs before this year was of 92, total achieved in the previous season, when he played with the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Debutante in NPB in 2014, the Hawks´ DH, is followed by teammate Yuki Yanagita (98), Hideto Asamura (92) and American Brandon Laird (85).
On Sunday, the Cuban slugger hit 2 for 4 with two RBIs in the 2-3 loss of the Hawks against the Seibu Lions, at Tokorozawa's MetLife Dome.
Despaigne, who is also the home run leader with 33, is actually on fire, as on Saturday he batted 2 for 3, including a homer, with three RBIs and one run, to contribute to his team's 7-3 win over the Lions.
In the previous match, last Thursday, he also blasted a homer, with four RBIs, one run and two hits.
His team, which also includes the Cuban pitcher Livan Moinelo, is already the champion of the Pacific League, with 89 wins, unassailable for the other sides.