ARLINGTON, Texas -- The father of a 6-year-old girl who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings will throw out the first pitch for the Texas Rangers' home opener April 5.

The ceremony is part of a league-wide effort by Major League Baseball to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting during the opening games of the 2013 regular season.

All players, managers, coaches, umpires and on-field personnel will wear a symbolic ribbon patch and, with fans, observe a pregame moment of silence in their opening games in a league-wide effort to remember the individuals who lost their lives on Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn.

Robbie Parker, a longtime Rangers fan who grew up in North Texas, used to take his daughter Emilie to games at Rangers Ballpark, Seattle and Boston. She was one of the 27 victims of the shootings in Newtown.