Matt Harvey turned universally cherished by Mets followers after arriving on the scene in 2012 with an electrical fastball and wipeout slider.
The child from Connecticut had in any respect: expertise, charisma and a smile that might illuminate Citi Discipline. Earlier than Jacob deGrom turned the inheritor obvious to Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden, there was Harvey. And he embraced the problem.
By the point Harvey departed Queens, he was a damaged man, bodily and emotionally. We all know the latter due to his admission this week that he used cocaine whereas pitching for the Mets. That info got here in testimony he delivered throughout Eric Kay’s trial in Texas. Kay, a former Angels worker, has been charged with supplying fentanyl to pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died in 2019 with the drug in his system.
Harvey’s admission hardly got here as a shock to these across the Mets. There had been unsubstantiated rumors Harvey used cocaine, and his fame as a hardcore partier solely grew with every new group infraction, whether or not it was lacking a exercise earlier than the 2015 NLDS or skipping a sport two years later after he had stayed out late the earlier night time.
As anyone who lined Harvey all through his Mets profession it was straightforward to identify a line of demarcation in character. He began the All-Star Sport at Citi Discipline in 2013 because the toast of New York. A month later, he acquired the analysis of a torn elbow ligament that necessitated Tommy John surgical procedure. Harvey returned carrying a burden, maybe with the conclusion he nonetheless might be a superb pitcher, however that he had missed his golden probability at receiving a nine-figure contract.
That’s to not say Harvey’s cocaine utilization started then. We could by no means know when it began or the complete impact it had on a pitcher whose remaining superpowers disappeared fully after he lobbied for the ball within the ninth inning of Sport 5 of the 2015 World Sequence in opposition to the Royals. The Mets have been about to lose their lead and the sequence.
Quickly, Harvey’s velocity disappeared and a brand new analysis of thoracic outlet syndrome arrived. That meant extra surgical procedure. Harvey has barely survived within the main leagues since then. Final yr, he pitched to a 6.27 ERA in 28 begins for the Orioles.
“Particularly as a pitcher, you simply by no means know,” deGrom instructed me two springs in the past. “That's the reason I say I'm grateful day-after-day I can put this uniform on and do that, since you simply by no means know when your time cam be up so far as enjoying. The principle factor is attempt to keep wholesome. It’s simpler stated than completed.
“There’s some issues which can be out of your management, like no person is aware of a lot about thoracic outlet after which Harvey will get it and also you do the surgical procedure and also you simply don’t know. There’s so many issues which can be unknown.”
One of many nice disappointments in Mets historical past was by no means receiving an prolonged stretch with Harvey, deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz in the identical rotation. Accidents to all of them restricted that proficient group to just one flip within the rotation collectively. That got here in 2018, shortly earlier than Harvey was traded to the Reds.
Harvey has acknowledged lately that his life-style and immaturity contributed to his undoing with the Mets. The followers nonetheless confirmed their appreciation for him final season, when he pitched at Citi Discipline for the primary time for the reason that commerce.
The affirmation of Harvey’s cocaine utilization whereas pitching for the Mets shouldn’t change anyone’s opinion of him. If something, really feel unhealthy for Harvey that he was damaged sufficient emotionally to make use of the drug.
Greater than a era in the past, Gooden and Darryl Strawberry sabotaged their careers with substance abuse. Each are nonetheless largely revered for serving to the Mets win the World Sequence in 1986.
Harvey by no means delivered such a championship, however took the ball in 2015 when forces have been pulling him towards shutting down due to innings workload considerations. He nonetheless needed the ball within the ninth inning in Sport 5 of the World Sequence, however couldn’t end the job.
He deserves to be remembered as a shining star — if even for a short second — who by a confluence of bodily illnesses, emotional misery and life-style selections by no means discovered sustained success.
Let’s simply hope he has discovered peace in his life that doesn’t require nefarious chemical inducements.
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