The Pericos de Puebla closed out the South Zone Series 4-2, shutting out the Diablos Rojos 3-0 in Game 6 on August 26 and burying Mexico City’s dream of a historic three-peat. Hours later, Robinson Canó took to Instagram with a message for the scarlet faithful — equal parts pride and acceptance. His words: «It’s a pride to be part of this team.»
What the post doesn’t say — but what’s worth telling — is everything behind that pride: a «one more year» the fans pulled out of him, a farewell that isn’t a retirement, and a chapter that closes with more history than it might seem.
The «One More» the Fans Won
Back in September 2025, Canó was ready to walk away from the Diablos. He said so publicly. The scarlet crowd heard it and answered with a chant from the stands at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú during the back-to-back championship celebration: «¡Uno más!» — one more. The Dominican relented. He came back for a third season carrying the full weight of that promise.
The context makes it even bigger. The Diablos had won the Serie del Rey in 2024 and 2025, and in 2026 they were chasing something only the Sultanes de Monterrey had ever done in the LMB’s century-long history: three straight titles, back in 1947–49. Being the second franchise to pull it off would have been the perfect final frame for Canó’s Mexico story.
The team arrived at the playoffs with the best record in the entire league — 64 wins and 29 losses in the regular season. Canó himself had posted a monster 2025 campaign: .372 average, 14 home runs, 86 RBI, and a .999 OPS — numbers that belong to someone who, in the MLB, spent decades as one of the best second basemen of his generation. And when the Diablos were down 0-3 in this series heading into Game 4, it was Canó who drove in three runs with a double in a 15-10 win that kept them alive.
What Ends Here — and What Doesn’t
The Instagram message is not a retirement announcement, even if it reads like one. Canó is already signed with the Tomateros de Culiacán for the 2026-27 Liga Mexicana del Pacífico season. His run with the Diablos is over; his baseball isn’t.
The elimination also snapped another streak worth noting: manager Lorenzo Bundy had won nine consecutive playoff series since taking over the club in 2024. The loss to Puebla was his first in the postseason. For the Pericos, it’s the second time they’ve knocked out the Diablos in six playoff games — the first being 2023.
- The Sultanes de Monterrey remain the only franchise in LMB history with three straight titles.
- Diablos Rojos entered the playoffs with a league-best 64-29 record.
- Canó’s double in Game 4 drove in three and kept the series alive.
- His next destination: Culiacán and the LMP winter league.
The three-peat that wasn’t will live in the «what could have been» file. But Canó’s double in Game 4, his message to the scarlet family, and that «one more» chant from a year ago are the chronicle of a real run — with everything that entails. And with Culiacán already waiting, the next chapter is about to begin.
