Despaigne hit two homers on Tuesday to lift his season total to 35, breaking the old record of 33 shared by Yoenis Cespedes, who now plays for the Oakland Athletics, and Jose Dariel Abreu.

Cespedes defected from Cuba and recently signed a $36 million, four-year contract with Oakland.

An outfielder with the club Granma, Despaigne is hitting .343, leads in runs scored with 90, and RBIs with 98.

Granma has 11 games remaining in the regular season.