From Pitcher To Policeman: Former Major-Leaguer Anthony Varvaro Set To Graduate From Port Authority Academy Friday

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Port Authority Police Department is about to get a big-league addition.

Six months after retiring from professional baseball, Anthony Varvaro will graduate from the agency's police academy Friday.

Varvaro, a Staten Island native and St. John's product, pitched in parts of six seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.

While sitting out most of the 2015 season with an injury, Varvaro began to think about his future. He was playing for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox this past June, when he decided to hang up his cleats and start his next chapter.

"I figured that I had a pretty successful career in baseball," Varvaro, 32, told The Torch, St. John's student newspaper. "I had played a number of seasons, and I was fine moving on to the next step of my life knowing that I could chose what I wanted to do. The Port Authority, it's something that I sought out. I actually sought it out while I was in the major leagues."

The Mariners selected Varvaro in the 12th round of the 2005 draft. He made his major-league debut with Seattle in 2010.

Pitching in 166 career games, all in relief, he was 7-9 with a 3.23 ERA. His best seasons came with the Braves. In 2013, he was 3-1 with a 2.82 ERA. In 2014, he was 3-3 with a 2.63 ERA.

Varvaro's police academy classmates are well aware of his previous high-profile career, he said.

"Everyone here at the Port Authority, they all know," he told The Torch. "They're all aware of who I am, where I came from. They ask me a million questions every day."