New York Mets honor families of slain Brooklyn detectives

A record attendance of nearly 44,000 fans showed up to Citi Field on a sunny afternoon for the New York Mets home opener against the rival Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, April 13. However, the festivities of opening day and the hope for a win were put aside for a few minutes prior to the Amazins’ first game in Flushing this year.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, elected officials and NYPD officers were in attendance to pay tribute to Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were gunned down on December 20, 2014. Both families were on the field as players and coaches and other guests joined them in a moment of silence to honor the slain detectives.

The Ramos and Liu families, donning Mets jerseys with their last names on the back, then threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Mets stars Matt Harvey, David Wright and Curtis Granderson.

Last month, the Mets invited both the Liu and Ramos families to Port St. Lucie, Florida for a spring training game, where players hung out and played ball with them.