SEATTLE -- The Mariners shared more plans to celebrate their 50th season, revealing at FanFest on Sunday that they will unveil a new statue at T-Mobile Park to commemorate their 116-win season in 2001 and honor the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The statue, which will be displayed in the center-field plaza, will depict Mike Cameron and Mark McLemore raising an American flag on Sept. 19, 2001, eight days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
The statue ceremony will take place before Seattle’s game vs. the Athletics on Sept. 3, 2026.
“We’re honored to commemorate one of the most meaningful moments in both American history and the history of the Mariners,” club chairman and managing partner John Stanton said in a statement. “Baseball has always brought communities together, and the 2001 team embodied that spirit during a time when our country needed connection, hope and healing.”
The statue will primarily depict the epic snapshot of Cameron and McLemore that was captured in the moments after the club clinched the 2001 AL West -- one that’s featured in many nods to yesteryear throughout T-Mobile Park.
“There are just so many different aspects that tie in that I can think about now that I wasn't thinking about when I was 27 or 28 years old,” Cameron said on Sunday, recalling the moment. “I just grabbed that thing and kind of tipped our caps to the fans, and the fanatics and just brought it in. I didn't know that was going to be an iconic moment for this organization.”
MLB had suspended play for a week following the attacks, and when the Mariners returned to action on Sept. 18, the tone across the sport was markedly subdued. The following night, in front of a sold-out crowd against the Angels, the Mariners learned midgame that the Rangers had defeated the A’s, clinching the division title for Seattle.
The announcement was met with cheers, but the celebration never fully took shape. Four innings later, after the Mariners completed a shutout victory, players lined up on the field for what was more handshake line than champagne spray. At the back of that line was Carl Hamilton, the club’s longtime video coordinator and a Marine veteran, carrying a large American flag.
Hamilton and Stan Javier began waving the flag before McLemore brought it to the pitcher’s mound, where the team gathered and knelt in prayer. Public address announcer Tom Hutyler asked the crowd for a moment of silence, and a ballpark that had been buzzing all night went still.
What followed wasn’t planned. McLemore picked up the flag and began walking it around the bases. Teammates joined behind him, some wiping away tears. When they reached home plate, McLemore and Cameron raised the flag together, saluting the crowd in a scene that transcended the standings, the season and even the sport itself.
“At the time, there was a lot of uncertainty,” Cameron said. “There was a lot of craziness going on, where we just didn't know. And the symbolic thing of tying people together when we have something of this nature, and the fans, the only way we could do it was from this part of the country was to salute and tie in the united part of the team and also baseball.”
In many ways, the image has endured as an emotional centerpiece of that historic season -- a reminder that the 2001 Mariners were defined not only by dominance on the field, but by the way they carried themselves when the moment demanded restraint, respect and empathy.
Tickets for the Sept. 3 game are available at Mariners.com/tickets.