The highs and lows of Matt Harvey’s Mets career
Once a golden boy in New York, Harvey will be DFA’d by the Mets on Saturday.
After high highs (that is not supposed to be a double meaning unless our lawyers aren’t reading this and then in that case it definitely is) and even lower lows, Matt Harvey is being designated for assignment by the Mets on Saturday. He reportedly was asked to accept a minor league assignment and as he’s out of options the Mets only had one choice, so Harvey’s Mets career is over.
In a few short weeks this season Harvey has managed to get busted partying the night before a game in a different city than where the game was being held, be bounced from the starting rotation, snap at reporters, and now finally he’s leaving the team in an undignified way that isn’t befitting of the few successful years he had as one of the best pitchers in New York City.
While this post has many references to Harvey’s various tabloid coverage and partying exploits, that’s not what sank his career. If he were still throwing the way he was in 2015 logic says the Mets front office and fans wouldn’t be quite as hard on him as they’ve been in recent seasons. Being great buys you a lot, and he was great for a while there.
Injuries are what cost him though, and now he’ll try to find a starting spot elsewhere in the league. His career might not be kaput, but his time with the Mets is done. Here are the highs and lows of his time in New York.
High: Starting Multiple World Series Games
Remember when the Mets made the 2015 World Series? We were all so young then. It’s the “It’s been 84 years” gif of World Series appearances. Harvey got the nod to start not one but two games in the series, a testament of the esteem the team had for him at the time.
Looking back, this was Matt Harvey on the top of the world. He owned pieces of New York in the way only athletes at the top of their game can, especially with the swagger and confidence he was operating with at the time. Once the more frustrating parts of Harvey’s career are a little farther in the rearview hopefully Mets fans will be able to circle back and appreciate this part of his career for what it was.
Low: World Series Game 1, 1st Inning and World Series Game 5, 9th Inning
... or, at least most of that part of his career. Harvey’s performance isn’t why the Mets lost Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, but he did get lit up for an inside-the-park home run on the first pitch of the game.
Game 5 was the true disaster, with Harvey’s gem of an eight-inning performance game overshadowed by his insistence on staying in the game for the 9th. He let up a run and left the door open for the Royals to tie it and eventually win the game and the Series. Who knows if without Harvey’s shakiness the Mets would have been able to hold on and win two more games after that but that inning is associated with the beginning of the end for Harvey, fair or not.
High: Dating Models
Just like Mark Sanchez and Derek Jeter before him, Matt Harvey seemingly knew that if you’re on the top of the heap in New York there are certain advantages and social benefits. Which will also land you in the good tabloid subheads. A (mostly) complete list of models Harvey was tied to during his time in New York:
Anne V (Late 2013), Ashley Haas (February 2014), Asha Leo (Spring 2014), Shannon Rusbuldt (July 2014), Ania Cywinska (Summer and Fall 2015), Devon Windsor (2015), Adriana Lima (March 2017), and Kristina Krishka (November 2017).
That’s not even including non-model Lo Bosworth or the time he reportedly wanted to do a private meet-and-greet with Eugenie Bouchard at the US Open. Truly the Leo DiCaprio of MLB pitchers so uh, good for him on that front?
Low: Being Publicly “Shown Up” By Julian Edelman
“Live by the public dating, die by the public dating” is the best way to describe this one. Harvey’s career with the Mets wasn’t exactly trending upward at this point, but at least he was dating Adriana Lima! She’s great!
Or, uh, he was until she was seen out with her ex-boyfriend, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, at a Met Gala afterparty. “This has nothing to do with baseball” you would think, but the news put him in such a funk that he spent a night out drinking and missed a start. He was suspended for three games after originally claiming he had a migraine.
He later admitted that he also went golfing the morning before the game. Later that week Lima and another ex threw shade at Harvey on her Instagram. Rough week for your boy!
It did give us the New York Post headline “Matt Harvey emerges with an appropriately sad snack” though (a double-byline piece!) so it’s the fans who won in the end.
High: His First Three Years With The Mets
Sure, Harvey’s World Series performance was the best end to his dominant time with the Mets but there was a dominant time. He started the 2013 All-Star game at Citi Field. During his three healthy seasons between 2012 and 2015 he went 25-18 with a 2.53 ERA in 427 innings. He was the NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2015!
In those seasons he really earned his Dark Knight nickname and all of the accolades that came with having numbers like that. And then ...
Low: Everything That Came Afterwards
Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 but bounced back for a solid 2015. He suffered a broken bone in his shoulder last summer before eventually having thoracic outlet decompression surgery, but that recover didn’t go quite as smoothly.
Over his last three seasons he’s made 39 starts, and had a 5.93 ERA in 212 innings. That’s good for a 69 ERA+ which is nice ... for the opponent.
One positive of this period in his career? He taught us all that when you have to pee you should just pee otherwise you can get blood clots and have to have surgery because you didn’t pee enough.
High: Saying He’d Had A Threesome On National Television
In 2016 Harvey went on Watch What Happens Live with Connie Chung and played Never Have I Ever. One of the things Connie came up with was having a threesome. Long live Connie Freakin’ Chung.
The look on his face alone. So satisfied to be able to drink after that question.
Low: “Denying” He’s Done Cocaine On National Television
Another gem from Connie during the WWHL taping. That was not a convincing hand wave that you’ve never done it there, buddy — a very “I am a professional athlete and my team is already mad at me about a bunch of partying” hand wave. But if he says so, then that is what we have to take at face value. Maybe be a little more forceful with your denial next time though.
High: The Party Invites
Just like his model antics, being a star in New York means you get all the good invites. In his prime he made appearances at Men’s Fashion Week, rooted on the Rangers during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, held his birthday at the Monarch Room, and went to a Naomi Campbell-hosted party for Richie Akiva at which Jay Z was also a guest. That’s on top of his usual VIP visits to 1OAK, of which there were many.
Low: The Actual Partying
Many, many visits to 1OAK. That’s where his three-game suspension partying occurred, among many other reported nights out. After one start he threw himself a belated birthday party at the Hunt & Fish Club. He once nearly got sucked into a bar fight between his group and another one at a private club and claimed wrong place wrong time.
Most recently, he was caught partying in LA the night before a game in San Diego during which his relief performance left a lot to be desired.
Even if you take it for granted that the tabloids usually over-exaggerate their reports, there’s a reason Harvey eventually gained a reputation for partying a little too hard a little too often. That surely didn’t help him try to keep public opinion on his side once his pitching skills left him.
High: That Bathrobe Photo
Can you imagine this happening in 2018? People would check Twitter and be like “oh yeah cool Matt Harvey’s naked in a bathrobe. Let’s go see if the President has tweeted about one of his cronies though.” But in 2013, a photo like that on the set of ESPN the Magazine’s Body Issue just stemmed a bunch of fun memes for a full week instead of an hour and we all had a ball. The internet used to be fun.
Low: Being a Fan Of Reggae Music
While he was injured last summer and the Mets were out of town, Harvey and friends took a trip out to the Hamptons. They reportedly went to Swallow East (naturally) to ... listen to reggae music? This might be the most egregious thing he’s ever done.
High: Matt Harvey’s Dog
Harvey deserves to end on a higher note. Look at that puppy’s adorable face! What a munchkin. Of course, the announcement of the dog’s existence in 2017 was shared by one Mets fan on reddit as “Happy Mets News” which is the best way to explain Mets’ fans mentality.
Hopefully, now that Harvey is done with the Mets for good, both he and the fanbase can go on to bigger and better things. This is the Mets though, so maybe not.