After failing to overtake Oakland in the final weekend of the regular season, Lou Piniella's Mariners got in with the Wild Card and had to overcome a White Sox home-field advantage. The 2000 Mariners team was different from the clubs that reached the postseason in '95 and '97, most notably due to the absence of Ken Griffey Jr., who had signed with Cincinnati after 1999.

Alex Rodriguez hit 41 homers with 132 RBIs during the regular season -- and was making a case for himself as the game's best player. He had three of his four series hits in the opener, including an RBI single in the first inning of Game 1 to get Seattle started. It would rally with three in the ninth to win, 7-4.

The Mariners came from behind in all three games, clinching the series in Game 3 -- the first postseason played at Seattle's brand-new Safeco Field -- when pinch-runner Rickey Henderson scored on a bunt by Carlos Guillen.

Path to the ALDS: ?Seattle (91-71) won the AL Wild Card; Chicago (95-67) won the AL Central by five games?

Managers: Lou Piniella, SEA; Jerry Manuel, CWS