Former major-league relief pitcher Anthony Varvaro is switching jerseys. He won't be pitching to batters, though. The right-hander will be catching criminals, the New York Daily News reported.
Varvaro, 32, who pitched for three teams between 2010 and 2015, graduated from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police academy on Friday.
Varvaro pitched for the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners. He went 7-9 in 166 relief appearances before an arm injury sidelined him for most of 2015.
The Staten Island native graduated in a ceremony in Elizabeth along with 79 others.
In an interview with The Torch, St. John's student newspaper, Varvaro said he was set to pitch again for a Red Sox Triple-A team, but decided to switch careers and become a cop.
“I kind of felt like my body was breaking down a bit, I felt like my career may have been coming to an end,” he told the newspaper in a Dec. 2 interview. “I probably could have played little longer, but that’s when an opportunity with the Port Authority Police Department arrived.”
The Port Authority Police Department patrols the New York region's airports, tunnels, bridges and a transit system.
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