Mariners Playoffs: Comparing 2001 and 2022 across the decades

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 05: Fans hold signs during the ninth inning between the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on October 05, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 05: Fans hold signs during the ninth inning between the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on October 05, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

As I sit here trying to wrap my head around the fact that the Mariners season still isn’t over at the completion of the regular season for the first time since 2001, a new thought raced across my mind for the first time since they clinched. What were things like in 2001?

Sure, it’s been on our minds a bit. We all know it’s been a long, long, LONG 21 years. What exactly was life like back then? What were some of our current Mariners doing?

Let’s take a look at some of the comparisons between 2001 and 2022, including then and now for the Mariners

The first one that comes up is Julio Rodriguez. He was born on December 29th, 2000. The Mariners last playoff game was on October 22nd, 2001. That means that Julio, the current leader of the Mariners and leading candidate for the next face of baseball… wasn’t even 10 months old. The dude could barely walk the last time the Mariners played a playoff game, and now he is leading the way.

Aaron Sele started that game, and he is now 52 years old. Luis Castillo is set to start game one, and he is 29. Even crazier to me is the fact that the Mariners had four players who were 38 play in that series. Jamie Moyer was born 38 years before Julio. Carlos Santana, the oldest current Mariners player at 36, was still born 8 years after the Mariners youngest player then, a 22-year-old named Joel Pineiro.

Then, there are the constant comparisons you see, just to think of how long ago this really was.

  • Gas: $1.46 vs $4.67
  • Milk: $2.88 vs $4.41
  • House Price: $179,900 vs $348,100 (and $595,700 in Washington)
  • MLB average team salary: $65.4 million vs $161.9 million
    • 3 teams between $115-100 vs 22 teams spending $125+
  • Usher/Christina Aguilera/Destiny’s Child vs Lizzo/Harry Styles/Doja Cat
  • There were 12-15 current NBA players who weren’t born yet
  • Things are a lot different now than they were 21 years ago. Only a couple of the current players were even to middle school. The Mariners made it to the ALCS in 2001, so hopefully, that is one thing that we can see a repeat of from 2001.

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