The brawl? No. A team meeting? No. Here's how the Mariners really became baseball's hottest team.

The reasons for the Mariners' magical success aren't as theatrical as one might expect or hope when trying to build a narrative that doesn't really exist.

Contrary to popular belief from many fans, the infamous brawl with the Angels wasn't the defining moment that united the team. They already felt united and playing for each other.

If you recall, they'd won five games in a row prior to that Sunday in Anaheim and lost a winnable game that would've made it six in a row and lost the next day to Baltimore.