Royals honor fallen KCFD firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman with shirts during batting practice

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Kansas City Royals returned to Kauffman Stadium Monday for the first game of a seven-game homestand.

As the Kansas City Fire Department continues to mourn the loss of firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman, the Royals spent Monday’s batting practice wearing shirts that honor him.

The organization also planned a pregame moment of silence before Monday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

“I have friends and family back home that are firefighters,” said Royals reliever Lucas Erceg. “I know that what they do is a lot harder than what we do. It goes without saying that they’re the real heroes in our society and in our cities, taking care of the real world problems that are going on.”

READ MORE: Fallen firefighter paramedic Graham Hoffman remembered at somber service

Hoffman was stabbed and killed by a woman who he was attending to in an ambulance on Sunday, April 27.

“It’s part of the reason we do this job,” said Royals second baseman Michael Massey. “To bring the community together. It’s a lot bigger than baseball. A lot of my friends and even my wife’s family has members of the Chicago Police Department and Fire Department. To be able to see the grind that they go through every day to protect us is special.”

The shirts the Royals wore during batting practice Monday can be purchased here. Proceeds go directly to the Hoffman family.

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