In September 2015, Scott Boras tried to intervene and limit Matt Harvey‘s innings in what could be perceived as an attempt to save the pitcher not just from the Mets, but also from himself.  There would be a modified schedule and some skipped starts, but Harvey eventually took the shackles off because he wanted the ball.

Harvey always wanted the ball.

He wanted the ball in the NL East clincher against the Reds.  Instead of the five innings he was supposed to pitch, he pitched into the seventh because, well, he wanted to get ready for the postseason, and the Mets were lucky he did.

Harvey won a pivotal Game 3 of the NLDS.  With that series going five games, it was Harvey who got the ball in Game 1 of the NLCS.  In front of a raucous Citi Field crowd, Harvey set the tone for that series.  As he stepped off the mound with two outs in the eighth, he wasn’t tipping his cap.  No, he was pumped up like all of Citi Field was because he knew what we all knew . . . this team was going to the World Series.

When telling the story of Matt Harvey, we will forever go back to Game 5.  With the Mets team trying to rally back from a 3-1 series deficit, Harvey wanted the ball for the ninth.  Terry Collins initially wanted Jeurys Familia, but he relented, and he gave Harvey the ball.

You’d be hard pressed to find a time in Citi Field history louder than when Harvey took the mound in that ninth.  A blown lead and Game 5 loss later, you’d never find Citi Field more despondent.

Now, looking back, that Game 5 was the microcosm of Harvey’s Mets career.

He came in, and he gave us all hope the impossible could happen.  He brought us all along for the ride.  There was no one we wanted out there more than Harvey.  And yet at the very end, despite all the hope and brilliance he brought, we were all left in disbelief, and yes, some in tears, over the how and why Harvey was still out there.

Mainly, Harvey was there because despite no matter what anyone said, Harvey wanted to be there, and he was not going to let anyone stop him.

And you know what?  Back in 2013, no one could stop him.

In 26 starts, Harvey was 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA, 0.931 WHIP, and a 9.6 K/9.  His 2.01 FIP that year would not only lead the Majors, but it would be one of the 10 best over the past 100 years.  His WHIP still remains a single season Mets record.  It may have seemed premature to put him in the conversation with Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden, but really, it made sense.  Harvey was just that good.

He was the reason to watch a terrible Mets team, and on May 7th, he may have pitched the game of his life.  If not for an Alex Rios infield single Ruben Tejada could not turn into an out, Harvey likely pitches a perfect game.  Instead, he had to settle for a no decision despite allowing just one hit and 12 strikeouts in nine innings.  Just file that away next time someone points out his win-loss record.

That game was the signature Harvey moment.  He took the mound with a bloody nose.  He was reaching near triple digits with this fastball.  He was becoming a superstar.  He was making Citi Field his playground.

When we look through the history of Citi Field one day, it will be Harvey who emerged as it’s first superstar.  He was the one who brought the crowds.  He started the first All Star Game at Citi Field.  Arguably, he pitched the two best games ever pitched by a Met at that ballpark.

It would be that 2013 season Harvey broke.  He tore his UCL, and he needed Tommy John surgery.  Mets fans everywhere who were once so hopeful were crushed.  There were many low moments in Mets history since the team moved to Citi Field, but that one is among the lowest.

But when he came back in 2015, hope returned.  He may not have been 2013 great, but he was great.  For all the criticism over his innings limits, he would throw more innings than any pitcher in baseball history in their first season back from Tommy John.

Looking back at that 2015 season, Harvey gave the Mets and their fans everything he had.  He pitched great in the regular season, and he was even better in the postseason.  Just like in 2013, he was trying to will the Mets back to prominence.  He was taking an organization on his back and trying to win a World Series.

It broke him in 2013, and apparently, it broke him again in 2015.

Really, when he stepped off that mound in Game 5 of the World Series, Harvey was done as we knew him.  In 2016, he’d be diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome requiring season ending surgery.  Last year, Harvey was rushed back to the rotation before he was physically ready, and he suffered a stress reaction.  This year, he was healthy, but lost.

Looking back, no one will ever know if Harvey listened to Boras if he’d still be The Dark Knight instead of a guy now looking for a job.

The real shame is how Harvey went out.  The same guy who heard the loudest ovations from the fans, the same one who heard Mets fans serenade Stephen Strasburg with “Harvey’s Better!” chants, was booed off the mound the last time he ever pitched on what had once been his mound.

There are some who will find behavioral excuses why Harvey faulted, and maybe they do exist.  However, you’d be hard pressed to find a pitcher who was at the top of his game in November only to completely lose it by the next April.  Most pitchers get a transition period to figure things out.  Harvey’s cruel fate was he had more injuries followed by his getting about a month and a half before being given an ultimatum.

In what once seemed impossible, Harvey was designated for assignment.  Sure, Mets fans always expected him to leave one day, but we all thought it would be Harvey who spurned the cheap Wilpon family, not the Wilpons kicking him out the door despite the team still owing him around $4 million.

Much has been made of the Mets crop of starting pitchers, the group who brought them to the 2015 World Series.  Make no mistake, Harvey was the best out of the group.  Better than Jacob deGrom.  Better than Noah Syndergaard.

Really, he was better than anyone not named Seaver or Gooden, and if things had broken right, Harvey could have been a Hall of Famer.  He was that good when he was healthy, but he wasn’t healthy making him this generation’s version of Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen, or Jon Matlack. 

Harvey being designated for assignment wasn’t a shock.  With every struggle on the mound, and yes, some personal issues that emerged, he was getting closer and closer to this point.  It doesn’t mean this doesn’t hurt the Mets fan, the ones who got to experience in the joy of seeing the real Harvey pitch, any less.

There will come a day down the line where all will be forgiven, and we can all just look back and appreciate all Harvey did for the Mets.  We can take a step back and marvel how he potentially sacrificed his entire career to win that one World Series.  Really, he has never been thanked or appreciated enough for that.

Now, he is looking for a new team and a new fan base.  Hopefully, Harvey rediscovers some of that magic he once had, and hopefully, he gets those cheers again.  He’s certainly earned them.

And when he does return to Citi Field, whether it be this year or the next, let’s hope he gets that true standing ovation he deserved, the one he might’ve received on Thursday had we all known it was going to be his last game in a Mets uniform.

No matter what happens, Mets fans everywhere should wish him the best of luck.  There was a time we showered him with all the love we had, and he returned the favor by giving us everything he had.  Everything.  Here’s hoping he gets everything he is looking for in his next stop.

I know no matter what he does, I’m rooting of him.  More than that I appreciate Harvey for all he did as a Met.  Really, best of luck to you, Matt Harvey.