Matt Harvey wasn’t sure which version of himself Mets fans would remember when he took the mound at Citi Field for the first time since being traded in 2018.
Would the Mets faithful think back to the Harvey that led their team to an improbable World Series run in 2015, or the one whose late nights and frequent injuries led to a controversial and disappointing New York tenure?
Harvey was relieved it was the former, as the Citi Field crowd welcomed an emotional Harvey with a standing ovation as he took the mound for the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, and again when he walked off the rubber where he stood six years before, fighting to save the Mets' World Series hopes.
This time, Harvey was just fighting off overwhelming emotion.
“I was holding back tears,” Harvey said. “I’m not gonna lie about that, it was pretty hard holding them back. It reminded me about the really good memories and coming off the field to an ovation like that, it brought a lot back.”
Harvey was ready for anything in his first time pitching at Citi Field as an opponent, and wouldn’t have blamed the fans for greeting him with boos after his once promising career in Queens ended with a suspension for missing a game after being out late the night before, a refusal to speak to the media after a rough bullpen outing, and an eventual trade to the Reds after he refused to be sent to the minors to rediscover himself. But Mets fans clearly chose to focus on the Harvey that was an All-Star in 2013 and pitched to a 3.04 ERA in three playoff starts during the Mets run in 2015.
“Between the injuries and I think me getting in my own way and causing some of those problems, I feel for them,” Harvey said. “I feel for the fans. Maybe I let them down. I think it’s fair to say that I would understand if they did [boo]. I’m extremely happy it went the other way. The last couple years have been extremely humbling, and I’ve learned from my mistakes. Finally being healthy and trying to reinvent myself to get back out there, it hasn’t been easy, but besides today, things have been going in the right direction…I’m healthy and I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
The Mets knocked Harvey around on Wednesday, plating seven runs in 4.1 innings to raise Harvey’s season ERA to 4.81 with Baltimore. But after a standing ovation to start the game and another when he came up to bat for the first time, it was clear that the Citi Field crowd wanted to thank Harvey for the memories of 2015.
“This is a very special place to me,” Harvey said. “I'd like to say I gave everything I had here, especially in that 2015 run. It was really something special. I left it all out there for the fans and our teammates. That was a big year for us and for the city of New York. Those memories came back when I got the standing ovation. Like I said, it was absolutely incredible.”
Harvey certainly gave everything he had in 2015, and while that year turned out to be the peak rather than a springboard for long-term success, Mets fans appear ready to let go of what could have been, and instead embraced what once was. It was a sentiment appreciated by the emotional Harvey on Wednesday.
“Obviously there’s been so many ups and downs at this ballpark and with this organization and I didn’t really know what to expect,” Harvey said. “What the fans gave me out there was incredible. It was very special to me. Something I’ll never forget.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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