Tom Brennan - MATT HARVEY, IT IS GOOD TO NEVER SAY DIE

Former Met Matt Harvey in troubling Mets times in years gone by

Matt Harvey had to be pleased that there are teams like the Orioles that flat-out need pitching.  Because it gave Matt yet another chance to resurrect his career.

After a fine 3-5, 2.73 appetizer in 10 starts in 2012, Matt electrified baseball in 2013 until his elbow blew and he needed Tommy John surgery in August that season.  

He went 9-5, 2.27 in 26 starts that year.  He should have won a lot more, but in 15 starts in May thru July, he was just 4-2 despite an ERA in the low 2s. My brother would say, "typical Mets."

As expected, Matt sat out 2014, but he pitched great (and many say too much) in 2015, with 216 in-season and post-season innings that year.

Yet another severe injury, requiring thoracic outlet surgery, occurred in 2016.

Bo Grumpus was a 1960s obscure rock band

As a result, he was 4-10, 4.86 in 2016, 5-7, 6.70 in 2017, 7-9, 4.94 in 2018, 3-5, 7.09 in 2019, and 0-3, 11.57 in 2020.  If his name and pedigree was Bo Grumpus and not former first round Dark Knight Matt Harvey, he no doubt would have been long out of major league baseball.

Yet, Matt remained confident that he could still compete, and before the game against the Mets on Wednesday, he was 3-2, 3.60 in 7 starts.  Not the fireballer of old, he has 25 Ks in 35 IP. It didn’t go well for him on Wednesday, but he unfortunately caught Mets hitters who recently thawed from permafrost and hitting well, finally.

Kudos to Matt for not giving up, when it would have been so easy to do that.

In mid-2013, one would have thought Harvey would be on his way to earning Max Scherzer money.  Instead, he's made "just" $32 million.  Good for him that he held together long enough to make some decent money in this game.

All the best to Matt moving forward, now that he is 32.  Time does fly.  But we still remember that stretch in 2013 when he was a Met and utterly electrifying.  Good memories indeed.