NEW YORK — Matt Harvey, the brash, fireballing pitcher who took on a superhero persona as he rose to prominence in Queens, then plummeted back to mortality amid injuries and controversy, announced his retirement from professional baseball on Friday.
“Goodbye baseball. And thank you,” Harvey wrote on Instagram, captioning a lengthy letter recalling his career and thanking his family, friends, fans and former teammates.
Harvey was a first-round Mets draft pick in 2010 and conquered New York three years later when he won 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA in 26 starts, started the All-Star Game at Citi Field and was a frequent find on the gossip pages of the city tabloids. That summer, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside the title “The Dark Knight of Gotham,” spawning a nickname that would stick for the rest of his career.
“I’ve been fortunate to be with some greats, but there’s no one else who’s brought that extra attention or that charismatic, Broadway-esque performance aspect to the hill with them every fifth day like Matt did,” he said longtime Mets teammate David Wright in a phone interview on Friday. “It was just this must-have, you’d better tune in because something special could happen every fifth day.”
But Harvey’s story quickly turned into lost potential when he underwent Tommy John surgery in August and missed the entire 2014 season, publicly feuding with team officials over details of his rehab.
He returned to the mound the next year and enjoyed renewed success as part of a wave of young pitchers that included Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz while fans and team officials watched his innings closely. Harvey was initially reluctant to play in the postseason, but eventually relented and responded with the cornerstone performance of his career: eight innings scoreless in Game 5 of the World Series against the Royals. But manager Terry Collins’ decision to leave him for ninth place – at Harvey’s urging – resulted in two runs that resulted in defeat.
“I know it ended badly, but he played that ninth inning,” Matz said, recalling Friday in St. Louis. “It was such a fun guy to watch and watch him compete. He started really well and he really ate from what was going on in New York. I enjoyed coming here and watching him do it.”
Looking back, that night was the high point of Harvey’s career. His 2016 campaign ended as a shell of what had come before and it was revealed around midsummer that he needed surgery to remove a rib and relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. Harvey never really recovered. Amid slowing pace, he produced a 6.70 ERA the following season and was traded to Cincinnati in 2018, where he began making trips to five teams over four seasons.
In Anaheim, Harvey became embroiled in controversy after the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs from an accidental overdose in 2019. Harvey testified that he provided Skaggs with drugs while the two were teammates. His testimony came during the trial of Eric Kay, a former Angels employee who was eventually convicted of giving Skaggs the oxycodone that led to his death. MLB suspended Harvey for 60 games in 2022 for violating Major League Baseball’s joint drug prevention and treatment program.
In 2021, Harvey returned to Citi Field as an opponent for the first time and received several standing ovations. He played in Baltimore’s minor league system in 2022 but did not return to the majors and became a free agent last November.
Harvey’s final act in high-profile competition was to appear for the Italy team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He had enough success there to consider a comeback, but two months later Harvey announced his retirement.
He finished his big league career with a 50-66 record, a 4.42 ERA and 867 strikeouts over 966 1/3 innings.
“To the fans, especially NY Mets fans, you have made a dream come true for me,” Harvey wrote on Instagram. “A dream I never thought possible. Who knew a kid from Mystic, CT could play in the greatest city on earth, his hometown. You are embedded in my heart forever.”