BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AMERICAN LEAGUE : Mariners’ Turning Point Arrived Earlier

The turning point for Seattle this season did not necessarily come on Aug. 2, when the Mariners were 13 games behind the Angels and began what eventually became the third greatest comeback in baseball history to win the American League West title.

Just as significant was the day General Manager Woody Woodward called a team meeting during spring training and told players he would not be dealing away ace Randy Johnson, pitcher Chris Bosio or designated hitter Edgar Martinez, all the subjects of preseason trade talks.

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The Kingdome crowd of 58,144 for Game 2 Wednesday was the largest American League championship series crowd since the Angels and Boston Red Sox drew 64,223 for Game 5 of the 1986 playoffs.