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Seattle Mariners

Mariners to honor record-setting 2001 team with statue at T-Mobile Park

Seattle shortstop Mark McLemore, left, congratulates Bret Boone on one of his three hits that drove in five runs in Seattle's 14-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League championship series, Saturday, October 20, 2001.  (Tribune News Service)
By Adam Jude Seattle Times
Seattle shortstop Mark McLemore, left, congratulates Bret Boone on one of his three hits that drove in five runs in Seattle's 14-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League championship series, Saturday, October 20, 2001.  (Tribune News Service)

SEATTLE – The Mariners will pay tribute to the franchise’s iconic 2001 team and honor the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a new statue at T-Mobile Park.

The statue will feature Mike Cameron and Mark McLemore raising the American flag during a defining moment of the Mariners’ 2001 season.

The Mariners won an American League-record 116 games in 2001, and the team had a subdued celebration after clinching the AL West title on Sept. 19, 2001, following MLB’s seven-day suspension of games.

Mariners longtime video coordinator Carl Hamilton, a Marine veteran, brought the American flag onto the field, and McLemore took it to the pitcher’s mound, where players knelt in a prayer circle.

“This was the high point of my career, definitely my highest moment in baseball,” McLemore, the Mariners’ veteran utility player and team leader, said later that night. “And it was right. After what our country has gone through, what many of our people have gone through, this was tasteful and respectful.”

Public address announcer Tom Hutyler asked the sold-out crowd of 45,459 for a moment of silence. McLemore, still carrying the flag, then led a procession around the field, teammates in tow.

Cameron, the center fielder, called it “the best way we could show our love for the Seattle fans and the people of America. There were definitely conflicting emotions out there, but the right way to do this was the way we did it. It was beautiful.”

The statue will be unveiled during a Sept. 3 game vs. the Athletics and displayed in the Center Field Plaza at T-Mobile Park.

Plans for the statue were announced Sunday during the Mariners’ FanFest event at T-Mobile Park.

“We’re honored to commemorate one of the most meaningful moments in both American history and the history of the Mariners,” Mariners chairman 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.”