Courtesy of Dave Cameron's FanGraphs post regarding Alex Rodriguez's contract with the Rangers comes this nugget that I had either forgotten or was never aware of.
In fact, here’s an interesting tidbit for you: Here’s the [2001] Rangers’ salaries for everyone but Rodriguez matched up with the 2001 Mariners’ salaries for everyone but Aaron Sele, their highest paid player that season.
Mariners, minus Sele: $67.7 millionRangers, minus Rodriguez: $66.6 million
That is interesting, but what is more interesting is the what: Aaron Sele? The 2001 Mariners, the greatest team of all time, paid the most money to Aaron Sele? If you did not already know that, how many guesses would it have taken you to get that one right?
Perhaps it is just me that has his impressions of Aaron Sele from 2000-1 completely obscured by his dreadful 2005, but I just cannot remember him being good much in the same way that I am quite positive that Jeff Fassero's good years are completely made up and never actually happened. Here's the breakdown by the way.