Legacy Plaza features 2001 Statue and a wall of commemorative bats and baseball medallions purchased by fans
SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners announced today the opening of Legacy Plaza at T-Mobile Park. The Plaza, located just inside of the center field gate, is home to the 2001 Statue featuring Mike Cameron and Mark McLemore raising the American flag September 19, 2001 following the team’s American League West clinch in the days after September 11.The Statue is surrounded by a wall of commemorative bats and baseball medallions purchased by fans in support of Legacy Field projects in Washington state.
“The statue we unveiled this afternoon captures a powerful image from one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history,” said Mariners Chairman & Managing Partner John Stanton. “It depicts Mike Cameron and Mark McLemore carrying an American flag across the field when baseball restarted days following September 11. It was a simple moment. There was no speech. No ceremony. Just two teammates carrying the flag together. Yet the image spoke volumes. At a time when Americans were searching for signs of strength and unity, it became a symbol of both.”
Fans sold out Legacy Plaza’s entire inventory of commemorative bats (116) and baseball medallions (2,269) in a matter of weeks, raising more than $300,000 in support of Legacy Field projects to build and enhance youth baseball and softball fields in Washington state.
The Mariners Care Foundation has previously funded two Mariners Legacy Field projects to date: Rainier Playfield (2023) and Lower Woodland (2001), plus several improvement initiatives with local Little Leagues through the Mariners Community All-Stars program.
Background on the 2001 Statue’s Commemorated Moment on September 19, 2001:
Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Major League baseball suspended play for seven days.
Midway through a sold-out game against the Angels on September 19, the Mariners learned that Texas had beaten Oakland, making the Mariners the first team to clinch their division championship. Players and coaches congratulated one another in the dugout, and fans cheered when the news was announced mid-game on the scoreboard.
Four innings later, the Mariners completed a shutout of the Angels, and Mariners players lined up on the field to shake hands in a subdued celebration. At the back of the line of players was Mariners long-time video coordinator Carl Hamilton, a Marine veteran, who had brought out a large American flag. Together with Stan Javier, Hamilton began waving it. Mark McLemore then took the flag to the pitcher’s mound where the team gathered around it, kneeling in prayer. Public address announcer Tom Hutyler asked the boisterous crowd for a moment of silence, and the ballpark became still. After an extended moment, McLemore spontaneously took the flag and began walking it around the bases, with the entire team joining in this solemn procession. Upon reaching home plate, McLemore and Mike Cameron raised the flag high and the team, some with tears in their eyes, saluted the T-Mobile Park crowd. The unique and respectful celebration, in many ways, remains the defining moment of the historic 2001 season.
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