Former MLB pitcher Anthony Varvaro, who retired in 2016 to become a New York City police officer, died in a car crash on Sunday morning as he was on his way to work at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony, according to The Associated Press.
He was 37.
Varvaro spent six years as a relief pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox before he retired in 2016. He’s worked as a police officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ever since.
Varvaro was on his way to work at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in Manhattan on Sunday morning when he was killed. Details surrounding the crash are not known.
“On this solemn occasion as the Port Authority mourns the loss of 84 employees in the attacks on the World Trade Center — including 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department — our grief only deepens today with the passing of Officer Varvaro,” the Port Authority said in a statement, via The Associated Press.
Varvaro pitched in the league from 2010-15, first with the Mariners before his four-year run with the Braves. He spent his final season with the Red Sox. The Staten Island native held a career 3.23 ERA and pitched 183.2 innings over 166 games.
He was en route to serve at the World Trade Center Command in commemoration of September 11, 2001 activities when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and colleagues. pic.twitter.com/NjleyAhZxI
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 11, 2022
“Not only was he everything you could want out of a ball player, he was everything you could want in a person,” St. John’s coach Mike Hampton, who coached Varvaro for three seasons as an assistant there, told The Associated Press.
“My heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates and fellow officers.”
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