Alfredo Despaigne named best Cuban baseball player in 2017

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 15 (acn) The National Baseball Directorate (DNB by its Spanish acronym) announced the list of the best players of 2017 in Cuba, led by the slugger Alfredo Despaigne.

Despaigne became champion this year both with Granma, his domestic team, and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, the club for which he plays in the Japanese Professional League (NPB), enough reasons to deserve the status of Best Athlete in this sport in Cuba.
On the other hand, Granma won the prize to the most outstanding team, taking into account the unprecedented victory in the local tournament, the incursion in the Caribbean Series and its very likely presence in the playoffs of the current 57th National Series (SNB by its Spanish acronym).
Carlos Martí (Granma) won the battle between managers, after taking his squad to the top of the 56th SNB and leading the Cuban national team in the Caribbean Series and the World Baseball Classic (WSB).
Jorge Niebla was chosen as the best umpire, after the World Baseball-Softball Confederation chose him in similar condition by his praiseworthy results in international events.
Meanwhile, Cesar Prieto and Yorbert Sanchez were elected as best junior player and rookie of the year, respectively.
The top 10 list included IF Yurisbel Gracial (Matanzas), P Lazaro Blanco (Granma), P Livan Moinelo (Pinar del Rio), OF Roel Santos (Granma), IF Yordan Manduley (Holguin), IF Alexander Ayala (Camaguey), P Miguel Lahera (Artemisa), IF Carlos Benitez (Granma), C Frank Camilo Morejon (Industriales) and IF Yordanis Samon (Industriales).