Advertisement

Mets invite families of slain NYPD officers to spring training

Mike Oz
Mets invite families of slain NYPD officers to spring training

Justin and Jaden Ramos lost their father in December when he was ambushed and killed while sitting inside his NYPD patrol car. The killings of Rafael Ramos and his partner Wenjian Liu made national headlines at the time, a tragic story that had the country talking about how much police officers' lives matter.

Three months later, and neither the New York Mets nor their captain David Wright have forgotten about the Ramos boys or the other family members affected. Justin, 19, and Jaden, 13, visited Mets training camp Friday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., as special guests of Wright. The brothers had lockers and uniforms waiting for them, plus jobs for the weekend — they'll be Mets ball boys.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball: Sign up and join a league today!]

Wright, himself the son of a police chief, called the Ramos sons around Christmas time, offering his condolences. But he didn't stop there, he invited them to Florida for a weekend of baseball. The New York Yankees' Silver Shield Foundation will pay for the brothers' education in the future, another fantastic gesture, but the Ramos boys fancy themselves Mets fans, so this will be a different type of cool.

As you can see, Jaden soaked up the first day.

The Mets also invited Liu's family to Florida. He didn't have children, but his widow and some of her family members visited the team's camp Friday too. Wright told ESPN's Adam Rubin why this was important to him:

"The fact that they took the offer to come down and hang out means a lot to us, because obviously with my situation with my father, we've got a very close relationship with the police department," Wright said. "To have part of that [extended police] family down here means a lot.

"Even if they weren't Mets fans, I grew up with a police officer as a father. The phone call was more about that and not baseball or the Mets."

Honoring police officers is important to Wright, whose father, Rhon, retired Jan. 1, 2014, in their native Virginia. David Wright's charity foundation regularly honored police officers last season at Citi Field.

The Mets get a ton of flack, especially on the Internet, but this is one case where we should all be able to agree. Great job, Mets.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!