It’s hard to have a better series than Jose Marmolejos had in the Diablos Rojos del Mexico’s four-game sweep of the Charros de Jalisco in the 2025 Serie del Rey. It’s harder to have a better two years as a ballplayer — at any level, in any league, in any country — than Marmolejos has had.
The New Jersey native went 10-for-16 with two homers, including an absolute missile in game four, three RBIs, and six runs scored over four games for the Diablos, who claimed their second title in as many years in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
Marmolejos, who played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners in 2020 and 2021, came to the Diablos for 2024 after spending 2022 in Japan with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball and 2023 with the Atlantic League’s Spire City Ghost Hounds.
Since arriving in Mexico City, Marmolejos has won four championships in two years. With the Diablos, he’s won the Serie del Rey in consecutive years, and over the 2024-25 winter ball season, he won the LIDOM championship and the 2025 Caribbean Series title with the Leones del Escogido.
With goggles on his head, his uniform drenched in champagne and clutching the MVP trophy near the third-base line of Estadio Panamericano, Marmolejos was quick to pass along the credit.
“This is truly a blessing, man. I cannot put into words,” he said. “This is God’s doing, and I’m super blessed to be here, for real.”
While Marmolejos is the only quadruple champion on the Diablos, teammates Robinson Cano and Brooks Hall, who joined the Leones del Escogido as reinforcements for the Caribbean Series, have each won three championships in the last two year.
Cano Reflects on 4,000 Hits – It took a moment, but Robinson Cano was able to name all the other players who have achieved the 4,000 hit milestone in professional baseball.
“There is Ichiro, there is Julio Franco. Ty Cobb…” Cano said during press availability before game four, pausing to think of the other name. “And I think the other one is … Pete Rose.”
His 4,000 hits were accrued over multiple levels of the minor leagues, MLB, and international competition. Discount some of the hits because of the leagues where he got them at your own peril. Cano, 42, may not have played the infield as much this season, but he remained a potent threat at the plate in the LMB, batting .372 with 14 homers and 86 RBIs in 86 regular season games.
“It’s something that, what can I tell you, when you’re a kid you dream, but you advance in the game and you look at what possibilities you have, and to be able to achieve it here in this way, at the Serie del Rey, really, I’m super happy and grateful,” Cano said in Spanish.
Asked which hit meant the most, he quickly had an answer.
“The first one is the most important of all, because it’s what you dream of. It’s the first thing you dream of in MLB,” Cano said. The Yankees “on May 3. On May 4, I had to face Hideo Nomo, and I hit one on the first base side, and that was my first hit.”
Plenty of MVP Candidates – Though Marmolejos won the MVP, there were several potential candidates among the Diablos Rojos. Allen Cordoba, who is building a strong candidacy for Panama’s 2026 World Baseball Classic roster, went 7-for-17 with two homers, six runs scored and eight RBIs. The four horsemen of the Diablos bullpen — Kevin Gowdy, Jimmy Yacabonis, J.C. Mejia, and Tomohiro Anraku — severely shortened the game, allowing just three runs, all in game four, in the entire series, posting a combined ERA of 2.25 and 12 strikeouts.
A Tough Ticket In Both Cities – The first two games of the 2025 Serie del Rey, played at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City, were sold out, with announced attendances of 21,000. Games two and three in Zapopan at Estadio Panamericano were sold out on Saturday morning, though fans wanting to get in could get tickets from numerous scalpers outside. On both nights, the Panamericano, a track stadium built for the 2010 Pan American Games that was converted into a ballpark when the Charros joined the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, was packed, with 14,233 coming out to game three and 14,260 coming through the gates for game four.
The Road Goes On Forever – The Serie del Rey may be over, but in Mexican baseball, the party never ends. Teams in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, the country’s winter league, are already training for the coming season, which starts on Oct. 15, and preseason games have already begun.
In Guadalajara, the Charros are now the country’s only two-season team, though because the seasons are in different leagues, the rosters don’t overlap. There’s no rest for the weary, though — several of the Charros, including manager Benji Gil, shortstop Mateo Gil, and second baseman Michael Wielansky, will be back at Estadio Panamericano to start preparations to defend the team’s LAMP championship.
Notably, the Charros will host the Leones del Escogido — featuring Jose Marmolejos — at Estadio Panamericano in the preseason Serie de Tequila, a rematch of last season’s Caribbean Series championship game on Oct. 4-5.
Where to Watch – All four games of the Serie del Rey were streamed live on YouTube via Claro Sports and will be available on their YouTube page to watch for a limited time. Links to each game broadcast are below.
2025 Serie del Rey Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
* – If necessary
September 10
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 8, Charros de Jalisco 4
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
September 11
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 12, Charros de Jalisco 1
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
September 13
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7, Charros de Jalisco 2
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
September 14
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7, Charros de Jalisco 3
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
Photo: Jose Marmolejos of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico accepts the 2025 Serie del Rey MVP award from Liga Mexicana de Beisbol president Horacio de la Vega after game four at Estadio Panamericano in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. (Photo courtesy of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol)
