Former Major League Baseball pitcher Anthony Varvaro is dead at age 37.
Officials and the MLB confirmed in online posts that he was killed in a wrong-way crash on the New Jersey Turnpike near Jersey City Sunday while heading to Manhattan’s 9/11 ceremony.
Varvaro played for the St. John’s University Red Storm and graduated with a degree in criminal justice. He pitched professionally for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox over the course of a six year career.
Two days after pitching his final professional game he entered the Port Authority Police Academy and officially became an officer in December 2016.
Varvaro was a Staten Island native and was a member of the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame’s 2019 class.
He leaves behind a wife and four children.