When the Tomateros de Culiacan and Charros de Jalisco square off in Game 1 of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico championship series Wednesday night, it’ll have a familiar feeling.
Last year, the Charros took the LAMP title, winning the 2025 LAMP final in six games with a dramatic 9-6, 13-inning win that sent Benji Gil’s club on to the Caribbean Series in Mexicali. Gil led the Charros to the championship game in Mexicali, where they fell 1-0 to LIDOM’s Leones del Escogido. And to make the matchup even more familiar, Gil and Tomateros manager Lorenzo Bundy squared off in the 2025 Serie del Rey, where Bundy’s Diablos Rojos del Mexico swept the Charros for the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol title last September.
With both teams having qualified for the 2026 Caribbean Series, perhaps there’s a little less on the line for the two clubs as they get ready for the finals. But the best-of seven series will give them a final tune-up in advance of the 2026 Caribbean Series, which the Charros will host after the event was moved out of Caracas, Venezuela in December.
A country having two representatives at the Caribbean Series is not unprecedented, though each time, there have been extenuating circumstances. The first time two teams represented one country at the Caribbean Series was in 1974, when the event was held in Hermosillo, Mexico, and the Yaquis de Obregón and the Venados de Mazatlán both represented Mexico as Venezuela did not send a team. In the 2003 Caribbean Series, the Indios de Mayaguez and the Criollos de Caguas both represented Puerto Rico when Venezuela didn’t send a representative due to a nationwide general strike. When Puerto Rico’s LBPRC didn’t operate in 2008, LIDOM’s Tigres del Licey and Aguilas Cibaenas represented the Dominican Republic at Estadio Cibao in Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
This year’s final marks the third time in LAMP history that the final series has featured the same two teams as the previous year, with the first occurrence in the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons, when the Tomateros de Culiacán and the Águilas de Mexicali played for the title, and it happened again in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, with the Yaquis de Obregón facing the Algodoneros de Guasave. Culiacan won the 1985 LAMP title, while Mexicali got revenge in 1986, and the Yaquis de Obregon took the 2011 and 2012 titles under manager Eddie Diaz.
Reinforcement Draft – The Tomateros de Culiacan selected outfielder Estevan Florial from the Aguilas de Mexicali with their first pick in the reinforcement draft. Florial, a native of the Dominican Republic, hit three home runs, drove in four runs and batted .500 against the Charros in the semifinals. Bundy’s club took infielder Willie Calhoun second. Calhoun had been playing for the Naranjeros in the semifinals, and is batting .286 with seven RBIs in the postseason.
The Charros took reliever Jesús Cruz from the Águilas, who played for Jalisco last season. In the semifinals, he pitched in two games, tossing 3 1/3 innings and allowing one hit and no runs. Their second pick was starter David Reyes, also from Mexicali, who saw action in two games, pitching 12 1/3 innings and allowing 5 runs in his two starts.
Each team will only be able to add one reinforcement to their final series roster.
Leo Heras Takes LAMP MVP – Leo Heras of the Algodoneros de Guasave has won the Héctor Espino Trophy awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the LAMP. The outfielder arrived on loan to the Algodoneros de Guasave and finished the regular season as the home run leader, hitting 14 home runs and batting .302 with 34 RBIs. He also leads the LAMP in career triples, hitting the 41st three-bagger on Dec. 26, 2025, to pass Matías Carrillo.
¡Leo Heras, el más valioso!?
El outfielder originario de Tecate, Baja California, se consagra como el MVP de la temporada?️
? El 26 de diciembre, Leo Heras hizo historia al convertirse en el líder de triples en la LAMP, alcanzando los 41. ¡Felicidades, niño! ?
El MVP de la… pic.twitter.com/daB1dGvp5O
— Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico (@Liga_Arco) January 18, 2026
Darel Torres Named Pitcher of the Year – Darel Torres of the Cañeros de Los Mochis won the Vicente ‘Huevo’ Romo Trophy awarded to the LAMP’s Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in ERA (2.13), strikeouts (62), and WHIP (1.09).
Matt Foster of Hermosillo Named Reliever of the Year – Matt Foster of the Naranjeros de Hermosillo won the Isidro Márquez Trophy, awarded to the Reliever of the Year, for his performance in the 2025-26 regular season. Foster made 28 appearances with an ERA of 1.16 and recorded 14 saves in 14 opportunities.
Ramirez Named Rookie of the Year – Hermosillo outfielder Ángel Ramírez won the Baldomero ‘Melo’ Almada Trophy awarded to the LAMP Rookie of the Year. Ramirez saw action in 61-of-68 games, recorded 49 hits, 14 doubles, 21 RBIs, and batted .290.
Manager of the Year – Luis Carlos Rivera, skipper of the Nayarit Jaguars,won the Benjamín ‘Cananea’ Reyes”Trophy for Manager of the Year. Rivera was the first manager for the franchise in Nayarit and went 40-28 in the team’s first season in Tepic, finishing as the best team in the overall standings and No. 1 in points with 16.
WBN Mexico: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mexico/
Photo: Mateo Gil and the Charros de Jalisco will face a familiar foe in the LAMP final series. (Photo courtesy of the Charros de Jalisco)
