I agree with most of what was said before, but I don't know the prior CAL hiring side at all. FWIW I was hired late 95 with zero references at any airline. Nobody I knew was an airline pilot except a very senior DAL guy. Airlines seem to hire whoever their flight department leadership wants to hire. For better or worse.
Too much time? Maybe they liked their job or maybe their base was the home town of their wife's family? Too little time? Actually, I won't go there. I am l-UAL so u might understand. My UAL new hire mates from a different background than me tended to be high time, 6-10k hours. Usually captain time on a jet somewhere else.
When I was hired at UAL they had 70k applications. Maybe they would just like to let a computer sort out the chaff and now they don't hire high time guys. Who knows.