Former MLB Player Turned Cop Dies on Way to 9/11 Ceremony

A former Major League Baseball pitcher who retired to become a New York City police officer was killed in a car accident on his way to the 9/11 memorial ceremony in Lower Manhattan on Sunday morning. Anthony Varvaro, 37, was a former reliever for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox before retiring in 2016 and joining the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The car accident happened in New Jersey as he was driving to Ground Zero, where terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers 21 years ago.

As The Daily Wire reports:

“We are deeply saddened on the passing of former Braves pitcher Anthony Varvaro,” the Braves said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and colleagues.”

RIP to former Braves, Mariners & Red Sox pitcher Anthony Varvaro, who was a New York Port Authority police officer. He was killed today in a car accident while on the way to a September 11 memorial event. He was 37 years old. https://t.co/i7pdlpI8w6

— RIP Baseball (@rip_mlb) September 11, 2022

The married father of four was killed in a head-on crash where the New Jersey Turnpike goes through Jersey City. The driver who struck him was driving the wrong way at the time, authorities told the Daily Voice of New Jersey.

Mike Hampton, the baseball coach at St. John’s University, where Varvaro player college baseball, told The Associated Press that Varvaro’s death was devastating.

“Not only was he everything you could want out of a ballplayer, he was everything you could want in a person,” said Hampton, who was an assistant coach at St. John’s during all three of Varvaro’s seasons there. “My heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates and fellow officers.”

The Port Authority said in a statement that Varvaro “represented the very best of this agency, and will be remembered for his courage and commitment to service.”

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