SEATTLE -- Players from three continents and five nations slowly circled the baseball diamond, following U.S. flag-bearer Mark McLemore, an African-American who used to be employed by the man who is now president of the United States.

	Seattle's celebration was anything but wild after the Mariners clinched the AL West.

And there in the middle of it all was outfielder Stan Javier, a 17-year veteran from the Dominican Republic, leaning for support on the shoulder of the team's video coordinator, Carl Hamilton. Javier is 37 years old, a former Yankees teammate of Seattle manager Lou Piniella, the son of former major-leaguer Julian Javier and a man who grew up around the St. Louis Cardinals.

And yet, there he was on this night when the Seattle Mariners became the first team to clinch a division title, bawling like a baby, completely overcome by the moment.

Last week, Javier said that when it came to this, when a team that might win more games than any team ever has finally clinched its title, there would be no loud celebration for him. That there was too much tragedy elsewhere, that it would be like when he won the World Series with the Athletics after the 1989 earthquake. I did not get a chance to ask him about his emotions Wednesday night -- he apparently left the clubhouse before the media was allowed entry.

When I asked Dave Myers about Javier's emotional response, Seattle's third-base coach replied, "He's just proud to be an American."

But Javier is Dominican.

"We're all Americans, right now."

That's the way it feels these days, doesn't it? As our games return and fans gather in stadiums again and sing the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America and America the Beautiful until even sportswriters are unable to swallow because of the lumps in their throats, there is a sense of unity rarely seen since World War II. Enough that even those from across an ocean feel the emotion in our patriotic songs.

"I felt strength from the fans," said Ichiro, one of Seattle's two Japanese players. "It isn't that we won or lost, it's that we are here. The fans and us became one.

"In a peaceful time, we may not pay attention to (the patriotic music). But in this situation, it does not matter where you are from. We all share the same feelings."

We do, and yet we also all have so many different emotions we don't know how to express. In the wake of last week's devastating terrorist attacks, there was a great deal of discussion about how this team should react when the inevitable finally occurred. Should they pop champagne corks? Dance? Shout? Or just shake hands? How do you celebrate personal accomplishment in a game when so many are dead and orphaned?

The Mariners discussed it among themselves, feeling a certain responsibility to behave in an appropriate manner. "There isn't any right way to respond," starter Jamie Moyer said. "But there is a wrong way."

"Everyone handles it in their own way," Moyer added, still on the verge of tears an hour after the game ended. "We paid respect to the fans and we paid respect to the people in New York. What is right and what is wrong in a situation like this? It's very difficult to know. I know some people will question whether we did it tastefully, but I think as an organization, we did the right thing."

In the end, they decided to bring a U.S. flag onto the field and hold a prayer out of respect to the many who lost their lives last week. The rest they left up to their emotions.

"I think it was pretty natural," pitcher Paul Abbott said. "We didn't tone anything down. That's how we felt."

So, having officially clinched the title in the fourth inning with Oakland's loss in Texas, they gathered on the infield after the game, a 5-0 win over the Angels, quietly shaking hands and exchanging hugs while the crowd applauded.

Then Hamilton carried the large flag to the field and somehow McLemore wound up with it. "I have no idea how," he said. "It just ended up in my hands."

McLemore led the Mariners to the mound, where they knelt in prayer as the stadium fell silent.

"Our purpose was to call attention to the tragedy," said Chuck Snyder, the man who leads the Mariners' player chapel. "That even though this is an important step for the team, our first thoughts were to those families."

And then McLemore began leading them on a slow march around the infield while Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." played over the stadium speakers. The team followed silently, several strides behind until they reached home plate.

McLemore is a 15-year veteran who once played for the Rangers when President Bush owned the team. He said carrying the flag Wednesday was the greatest and most emotional moment of those 15 years.

"It was extremely tough, but it made me very proud," he said of his emotions while carrying the flag. "There were definitely mixed emotions. I think it was tough for everybody to come back and play after last week. Everyone wanted to come back and play last night and yet we didn't want to come back. We're baseball players and this is our job, but we're also human beings."

The great American clichés are that the United States is the world's melting pot and that baseball is its national pastime.

But they weren't just clichés Wednesday night. They were as true as McLemore's grip on the U.S. flag as he led teammates from all around the world to first base, second base, third base and then brought them all home together.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.