Anthony Varvaro, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who retired in 2016 to become a New York City police officer, was killed Sunday in a car crash on his way to work at the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan, they reported. authorities and their former teams.

Varvaro, 37, was an agent with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He played baseball at St. John’s University in New York City before breaking into the major leagues as a reliever with the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox from 2010-2015.

“We are extremely saddened by the death of Braves pitcher Anthony Varvaro,” Atlanta said in a statement. “Our prayers and thoughts are with his family and his colleagues.”

The crash occurred Sunday morning in New Jersey. State police did not immediately respond to messages seeking details.

St. John’s baseball coach Mike Hampton said he was “speechless” upon learning of Varvaro’s death.

He grew up on Staten Island in New York City and was selected in the 12th round of the 2005 draft by Seattle. He played with the Mariners in 2010 and with Atlanta from 2011-2014.

Varvaro was traded to the Red Sox in late 2014 and pitched 11 innings for Boston at the start of the 2015 season. In May 2015, the Chicago Cubs took him off the roster but sent him back to the Red Sox. after they found an injury to the elbow of his throwing arm, which resulted in a season-ending operation.

In his Major League career he pitched 183 innings in 166 games, with a 3.23 ERA, 150 strikeouts and one save.

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