Odrisamer Despaigne was arguably one of the best pitchers this year in the Liga ARCO Mexicana de Béisbol with Venados de Mazatlán. The right-hander was a key figure in the team’s finals experience this year in the circuit.
During the regular season the Cuban was the team’s ace going 5-2 with a 2.98 earned run average, in the postseason the 36-year-old Havana native turned it up another notch going 2-1 and posting a 1.88 ERA.
The LaMP champion Naranjeros de Hermosillo selected Despaigne to reinforce their squad for the tournament based on his performance. After an opening day loss to Curaçao the Cuban hurler takes the mound hoping to put his team in the win column and build some momentum for the rest of the tournament.
Sources: Right-hander @despa40 will take the mound tomorrow for the @ClubNaranjeros against the @CriollosCaguas in the @sdcmiami2024.
#CubanBaseballDigest #SerieDelCaribe2024 #LigaARCO pic.twitter.com/3LZf0X8CHj
— Cuban Baseball Digest (@CBaseballDigest) February 2, 2024
This is your second Caribbean Series, is there something special about this one?
Yes, of course. We are here in a Cuban city, the city where we live, Miami. Marlins stadium brings back many memories of the years I was here with the organization and now I am happy to represent Mexico and Hermosillo. We hope to be champions, put on a good show for the fans and take the trophy.
How would you rate your performance in Mexico?
I felt very good the whole season, both summer and winter. I pitched a lot and had a good performance. I was able to participate in the final with Mazatlán and now I am happy to be here. The important thing is to win and put on a good show to win the series.
You pitched in the Liga ARCO finals, FEPCUBE and now Caribbean Series. Do you feel overworked?
During the offseason I work hard. I always focus on being healthy. This year I have already had more than 200 innings. I had a moral duty to go there and be with FEPCUBE, pitch at least one inning with them. It was a dream for me to pitch for the first time for a Cuba Libre team. I was with legendary figures like José Ariel Contreras, El Duque Hernández. I didn’t take FEPCUBE as something occasional.
Do you think FEPCUBE will continue?
It is a project that was born. There are going to be obstacles, but we are going to move forward. It’s the first year. There were people there, but more will come next time. “I think the project is serious and we are going to move forward.
Why do you think that Cuba did not come to this Serie del Caribe?
They didn’t come because they didn’t want to. It’s Miami and it’s going to be hard for them to come. But of course it is good for the Series and for Cuba to be in the tournament.