The year is 2021 and Matt Harvey, against all odds, is thriving. The embattled 32-year-old, essentially left for dead by MLB after a slew of lean years (the result of diminished velocity from Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgeries) pitching everywhere from Kansas City to Anaheim, has miraculously resurfaced as a productive member of the Baltimore Orioles’ starting rotation, earning victories in each of his past two starts. Monday against the Yankees was the best the right-hander has looked in years, logging his first quality start since April of 2019.
Harvey, a former first-round pick of the Mets who rose to stardom during his breakout 2013 (he was the National League’s All-Star starter that year), limited New York to three hits and one run scored in his six innings of work Monday at Camden Yards, contributing five strikeouts and three walks over his 84 pitches. That lowered Harvey’s season ERA to a respectable 4.26, which, if sustained over an entire season, would be his lowest since 2015. No longer a power arm capable of reaching triple digits on the radar gun (though he did clock 95 mph on a few occasions Monday night), the Connecticut native has had to reinvent himself as a finesse pitcher, relying more on pitch selection and changing speeds.
Harvey’s fall from grace was well-documented—the 6’4” hurler hasn’t been the same since his ninth-inning collapse against Kansas City in the 2015 World Series. A victim of his own celebrity (Harvey’s dating life and affinity for late-night clubbing were frequent sources of tabloid fodder throughout his New York tenure), the Dark Knight has eaten a steady diet of humble pie in recent years, relinquishing his ace status in favor of a more modest existence as an MLB journeyman, living on the fringes of a sport he once dominated.
After years of desperate clawing to stay in the big leagues (he considered playing overseas a year ago before latching on with Kansas City as a late-season flyer), it was a relative surprise when Harvey cracked the Orioles’ starting rotation this spring, but the bigger surprise is that he’s actually been effective in that role. Baltimore may lack the prestige of the Big Apple, but maybe that’s a blessing in disguise for Harvey, who has acclimated well to his new surroundings, giving his all for a rebuilding Orioles team with zero in the way of expectations.
This isn’t to say Harvey is back per se—it’s only been five starts and the Yankees team he defeated Monday hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders this year (the slumping Bombers are a dismal 9-13, good for last place in the division). It’s doubtful the veteran will ever again reach the meteoric heights of his Mets prime, when fans would hop on the 7 train to see the Dark Knight (who, at that point in time, was a bigger star than teammates Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard) work his magic at Citi Field. But Harvey is at least relevant again, which is pretty remarkable considering where he was a few years ago.
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