ALCS Astros-Yankees: Times Have Changed Since Houston's Last Championship Series

HOUSTON, TX — It's been nearly 12 years to the day since the Houston Astros last hosted a League Championship Series. When the Houston Astros host the New York Yankees in the ALCS on Friday at Minute Maid Park, it'll be just four days shy of the 12-year mark of when the Astros hosted the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.

A lot has changed in the 4,379 days since that game on Oct. 17, 2005, but then again some things remain the same. The Astros went on to beat the Cardinals and advance to the World Series that fall, only to get swept by the Chicago White Sox. Houston switched leagues and now plays in the American League — meaning they could become the first team to ever play in the World Series from each league.

On Oct. 17, 2005, Hurricane Wilma was forming in the Atlantic Ocean, making it the most powerful hurricane season on record. Wilma hit as a Category 4 Storm. Other major hurricanes in 2005 included Dennis, Katrina and Rita. This summer somewhat parallels that with Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate.

Just getting to the NLCS in 2005 was no small feat. Many faithful fans probably remember the NL Divisional Series against the Atlanta Braves and the 18-inning marathon game that was not only the longest post-season game in baseball history, but it was also the first game in post-season history to have two grand slams hit during the same game. Both occurred in the first nine innings as Adam LaRoche of the Braves hit one in the third inning and Lance Berkman of the Astros hit his in the eighth.

Here's a look at other things happening in 2005 during this week:

• Current Astros pitcher Justin Verlander was a rookie with the Detroit Tigers
• "The Colbert Report" hosted by Stephen Colbert first airs on TV
• George W. Bush still had a little more than three years remaining in the Office of the Presidency of the United States
• Barack Obama was a junior Senator from Illinois with 10 months under his belt
• The average price of gas was $2.34/gallon
• The box-office No. 1 film was The Fog
• The No. 1 pop song was "Because of You," by Kelly Clarkson
• The No. 1 country song was "Something to be Proud of," by Montgomery Gentry
• The Vince Young-led Texas Longhorns were ranked No. 2 in the country but on their way to the national title

To put the 4,379 days into perspective, here's a conversion chart from timeanddate.com:

• 378,345,600 seconds
• 6,305,760 minutes
• 105,096 hours
• 4,379 days
• 625 weeks and 4 days
• 1,199.73% of a common year (365 days)

Game 1 will be Friday night at 7:08 p.m. with Dallas Keuchel starting on the mound for the Astros on the Fs1 Network. Justin Verlander will start game 2, which is scheduled for 3:08 p.m. Saturday on Fox Network. Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be Monday in New York at Yankee Stadium.

Image: Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, center, waits to bat with third baseman Alex Bregman, left, and first baseman Yuli Gurriel during baseball practice Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Houston. The Astros beat the Boston Red Sox to advance to the ALCS, which is set to begin Friday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)