Anthony Varvaro, a former MLB pitcher who retired to become a police officer in the New York City area, was killed in a car crash Sunday morning while en route to work at the 9/11 memorial ceremony in Manhattan.
Varvaro, who left the mound in 2016 to join the Port Authority Police Department, was fatally struck in a head-on collision by a driver who was going in the wrong direction after crossing lanes. That driver, 30-year-old Henry Plazas, was also killed in the crash, New Jersey State Police said.
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The former MLB pitcher, who played baseball at St. John’s University before signing with the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox, was in a Jersey City stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike when the crash occurred. He was on his way to work a shift at ground zero in Lower Manhattan, where the 9/11 anniversary ceremony was underway.
“The crash remains under investigation and there is no additional information available at the moment,” a New Jersey State Police spokesperson said in a statement.
His untimely death was initially confirmed by his former teams, which offered tributes to the former player.
The Braves, the team that Varvaro played for the longest, said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the former pitcher’s passing, saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and colleagues.”
The Red Sox said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Red Sox pitcher Anthony Varvaro. We send our sincerest condolences to the Varvaro family.”
St. John’s head baseball coach Mike Hampton told reporters he was “at a loss for words” over Varvaro’s death.
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“Not only was he everything you could want out of a ballplayer — he was everything you could want in a person,” Varvaro’s former coach said. “My heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates, and fellow officers.”
Varvaro is survived by his wife and four children.
