It was not all that long ago that Matt Harvey looked like a pitcher who had the potential to win multiple Cy Young Awards, but the right-hander has now officially called it a career.
Harvey released a lengthy statement on Instagram Friday announcing his retirement. He shared a photo from an April 2013 start he made with the New York Mets and wrote about how fans at Citi Field chanting “Harvey’s better!” is one of the fondest memories he has. Harvey also discussed how disappointing it was for injuries to derail his career.
“With all the amazing memories came a lot of injuries and tough times,” Harvey wrote. “The realization that those amazingly powerful moments that make me thrive as a pitcher and help my teammates and city win are no longer possible. Believe me I wish I could have done more and brought more of those amazing moments back to life. I have to say this is my time to say thank you, and goodbye.”
You can see the full post below:
Harvey underwent knee surgery in September and had been a free agent. He spent all of last season in the minors for the Baltimore Orioles and had a 4.31 ERA over 10 starts in Triple-A.
The 34-year-old Harvey burst onto the scene for the Mets in 2012, two years after being drafted No. 7 overall. He went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA for the Mets in 2013 and finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting. After missing all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, Harvey had a strong recovery season in 2015, going 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA. He never regained his form after that and has mostly bounced around while posting high ERAs.
Harvey was suspended 60 games by Major League Baseball last year over his testimony in the case related to former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ death.
Harvey pitched for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic this year. He was hopeful that might help him attract attention from MLB teams for a potential minor-league deal, but he did not receive any opportunities in spring training.
