After nine MLB seasons, former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey, The Dark Knight, has retired. It’s hard to believe that Harvey only pitched for nine seasons, but he was able to somehow reach the highest of highs, and what seemed like the lowest of lows.
For those in New York, Matt Harvey was a hero (hence the nickname), a bright spot in tough stretch for the Mets.
Harvey burst onto the scene with the Mets in 2012, starting in 10 games and boasting a 2.73 ERA in 59.1 IP. In 2013, he went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA in 178.1 IP. He was sensational. He was the All-Star Game starter at Citi Field, and he went on to finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting. He missed the entirety of 2014 with an arm injury, but came back even stronger in 2015 with a 2.71 ERA. He started more games, won more games, and threw more innings. The Mets went on to win the pennant and play the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. The ninth inning of Game 5 is where we can mark the beginning of the end, where Harvey lobbied to go back out because he was pitching an absolute gem.
We all know how that ends, but for Harvey, things just kept getting worse. The reports of his party boy behavior and mental health began to surface and, eventually, he was let go by the Mets. At his darkest moments, Harvey was caught up in the trial involving the death of Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Harvey admitted under immunity that he was an occasional cocaine and oxycodone user, and had at times provided Skaggs with oxycodone pills. Harvey was suspended 60 games last year for the violation of MLB’s drug policy.
After numerous attempts to get his career back on track, his body simply wouldn’t let him be the dominant, overwhelming pitcher he once was. The brightest flames often burn out first, and that was certainly the case for Harvey.
However, it cannot be understated the importance he played in the revival of the Mets organization. New York hadn’t made the playoffs since their devastating 2006 NLCS loss to the St. Louis Cardinals so, for Harvey to lead the way in 2015 all the way to the World Series, it is a run the city will remember for a long time.