The 37-year-old MLB pitcher-turned-Port Authority cop killed in a wrong-way crash on the NJ Turnpike on his way to the 9/11 memorial in Manhattan left behind four children and a wife -- and donations are pouring in for the devastated family as remembrance services get underway.
A GoFundMe page launched to help support Anthony Varvaro's family has raised more than $230,000 from nearly 1,500 people since it was posted a day ago. And funds continue to steadily trickle in.
"Nothing in the world mattered more to Anthony than his family, and this collection will ensure AJ, Johnny, Christian and Savannah are taken care of for the future," the organizer wrote on the page.
Varvaro, husband to Kerry, played baseball at St. John's University before a six-year career in the majors as a relief pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners. He retired in 2016 to join the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and died in the head-on crash in Jersey City early Sunday. The wrong-way driver also died.
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Hundreds are expected to mourn Varvaro Tuesday and Wednesday at Matthew's Funeral Home in Willowbrook, Staten Island, ahead of a funeral Mass set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Tompkinsville.
On Tuesday, News 4 New York saw dozens of Port Authority police officers arriving on-site to pay their respects --- most of them dressed in Class A uniforms.
A number of his former MLB teams released statements expressing condolences this week, with the Braves saying the team was "deeply saddened" to learn of his passing.
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Varvaro's college coach at St. John's, Mike Hampton, said he was "at a loss for words" over his death.
“Not only was he everything you could want out of a ball player, 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.”
Port Authority officials said in a statement that Varvaro "represented the very best of this agency, and will be remembered for his courage and commitment to service."
Raised in Staten Island, Varvaro was drafted by Seattle in the 12th round in 2005. He played for the Mariners in 2010 and Atlanta from 2011 to 2014, then was traded to the Red Sox and pitched 11 innings for Boston early the next season.
In May 2015, the Chicago Cubs claimed Varvaro off waivers from Boston but returned him to the Red Sox after testing showed he had an elbow injury in his right pitching arm, which resulted in season-ending surgery.
Varvaro, who studied criminal justice at St. John's and graduated in 2005, told the student newspaper, The Torch, in December 2016 that he inquired about police jobs at the Port Authority while pitching in the majors.
“I figured that I had a pretty successful career in baseball, I had played a number of seasons, and I was fine moving on to the next step of my life,” he told the newspaper.
Port Authority officials said Varvaro became a police officer in December 2016 and was assigned to patrol for nearly five years before transferring to the Port Authority Police Academy to become an instructor.
