Between innings Ty Cobb would sit on the bench sharpening his spikes. Then, on the base paths, he would take an extra ninety feet sliding spikes up. He once nearly choked an umpire to death before his teammates pulled him off. He beat up a fellow Tiger who shared his hotel room because the other player took a bath before Cobb.
“You don’t understand! I have to be first!” Cobb shouted as he pummeled the guy. In 1912, he climbed into the stands and battered a fan who’d been taunting him. Nearby spectators shouted at Cobb, “He’s got no hands!” Cobb screamed back, “I don’t care if he’s got no feet!” and continued the beating.
The Georgia Peach is probably the most despicable player in history. Yet, in Detroit he was beloved.
From the 1960’s through the 1980’s no player in the NL was more disliked than Pete Rose. Yet, in both Cincinnati and Philadelphia, Charlie Hustle was worshipped. Barry Bonds has become the poster boy of the Steroid era. His bulging muscles was the picture of what was wrong with Baseball for many years. Yet, in San Francisco and Pittsburgh he remains idolized.
These controversial players were hated by many fans. Yet, their hometown fans adored them.
Enter Matt Harvey, a controversial figure who has been lambasted and ridiculed by fans of the very team he pitches for. Why are Mets fans so quick to blame one of their own and to attack one of their own? Especially when they don’t even know all the facts?
And when did things change?
In Game 1 of the 1973 World Series, Felix Millan allowed a routine grounder to scoot under his glove a la Bill Buckner 13 years later. Millan’s gaffe allowed two unearned runs to score. Oakland won game one, 2-1. Millan’s error clearly cost the Mets the opener. And possibly the World Series. Had Millan made the play, the Mets conceivably would have won game one. They did win Game 2 and would have returned to New York up 2-0 with Tom Seaver on the hill.
However, no one ridiculed or chastised Millan. We loved him no matter what.
Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS saw the Mets blow a 4-2 lead when Doc Gooden gave up a 2-run homer in the ninth to Mike Scioscia. LA would win in extra innings and instead of the Mets holding a commanding 3-1 series lead, we were deadlocked. True, at the time people questioned Davey Johnson’s decision to leave Doc out there. However, no one called for Johnson’s head. No one implored GM Frank Cashen to get rid of that bum Gooden. Why? Because no matter what we loved Doc and Davey.
Game 5 of the 2000 World Series saw Al Leiter give up two runs in the top of the ninth. In the bottom half of the frame, facing elimination, our HR leader stepped to the plate representing the tying run. Yet, when Mike Piazza flied out to end the game, the series and the year, no one called Piazza a choker. No one wanted Leiter shipped away. We loved them no matter what.
This unnamed Mets player scored 127 runs, setting a team record. His 41 HR’s is tied for the most in team history. His 116 RBI’s is third highest since 1962. He also hit 38 doubles, slugged at 594 and stole 18 bases in 21 attempts. Pretty damn good.
Yet, most people only remember Carlos Beltran’s 2006 season for taking a called third strike. The fact that without Beltran’s impressive stats the Mets don’t even get to that seventh game, much less the post-season, was overlooked. Many fans simply condemned Beltran for taking a pitch, a textbook curve ball that would’ve made Ted Williams’ knees buckle, a curve ball thrown by a rookie named Adam Wainwright who would go on to become one of the top pitchers in the league.
THAT’s when things changed. For some reason, fans now began looking for a goat, looking to point a finger at someone, finding some poor sap to blame everything on.
The castigating Matt Harvey received over the weekend is just the latest trend. Add his name to the growing list of players who seemingly every year takes the blame for the Mets not winning.
Eleven months after the famed Beltran AB, when the Mets collapsed, many fans now turned their verbal assault rifles from Aaron Heilman and Beltran to Jose Reyes and Willie Randolph. Despite the fact Reyes had 191 hits and set a Mets record for SB’s, people blamed him for having three bad weeks in September. The following summer, notwithstanding being the second winningest manager in team history, Randolph was fired and replaced by Jerry Manuel.
Manuel took over. The Mets started winning. Manuel was treated as if he was the second coming of Gil Hodges. Two and half years later, after two sub-500 finishes, Manuel was treated as the second coming of Art Howe.
It continued. Year after year, fans seem to have this irresistible longing to malign one of our own. Jason Bay. Jordany Valdespin. Oliver Perez. And when we ran out of players, we looked to the front office.
Omar Minaya, despite bringing the Mets back to relevance and having us in three straight pennant races while fortifying the farm system that is fueling the team’s run in 2015, was run out of town. When we ran out of players and GM’s, fans began blaming team physicians, hitting coaches, pitching coaches. And yes, even our stadium. Citi Field was not conducive to our team. A new low. All the problems with the Mets was now the fault of a structure.
I will say I’ve never been a fan of Matt Harvey the person. But I am a fan of Matt Harvey the pitcher. Should he have handled this differently? Absolutely. On one side he has his agent, on the other side his employer and in front of him the potential to earn hundreds of millions over the next decade.
Harvey is in a tenuous predicament where he seemingly can’t come out unscathed. Had he stated in spring training he would NOT pitch in the post-season, the media storm would have begun in April and grown into a tsunami. And yes, while Harvey wants to win and yes, while fans want to win, one can understand where he is coming from. And where Scott Boras is coming from.
Let’s be honest. Mets history when it comes to handling pitchers definitely leaves something to be desired. We have a long track record of pushing young pitchers too hard, too much, too early. From Craig Swan in the late 70’s to Tim Leary in 1980. Gooden was a shoo-in for Cooperstown. Granted, he battled inner demons but the fact that Gooden tossed 10,000 pitches before turning 21 definitely had an impact.
There was of course Generation K. Pedro Martinez, in his autobiography, alluded to the fact that the Mets may have shortened his career a few years. And of course, there was Johan Santana. On his way to tossing the first no-no in team history after shoulder surgery, Santana threw 134 pitches, the most of his career. After the no hitter, he was for all intents and purposes finished. That shows what can happen when you put the team first. And perhaps these are things that Harvey and Boras considered.
Two years ago The Dark Knight was larger than life, a huge young star who captured the hearts of Mets fans not unlike Doctor K three decades earlier. Now, however, he’s become arch enemy number one to many.
Perhaps it’s due to his own actions or that of his agent. But Harvey needs to be perfect down the stretch. If the Mets make the post-season, he damn well better turn in a Bumgarner-like October.
If the Mets fall apart in the next few weeks, miss the post-season by one game and sometime this month Harvey has the audacity to lose once who do you think fans will blame? Assuming the Mets make the playoffs and perhaps get knocked out in the first round or the second round and Harvey takes a loss or perhaps skips one start to save his career, who do you think fans will blame? And if Harvey happens to be on the mound when the Mets get eliminated? Wow, think of the hell he’ll endure from fans and the media.
In just three months, Harvey and the Mets begin the process of the right-hander’s first year of arbitration. In the not too distant future, Harvey will be eligible for free agency and there’s already whispers of potentially trading him. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports just wrote that no team is monitoring the Mets and Harvey more than the New York Yankees.
“It’s worth noting that the Yankees do love Harvey’s enormous talent and his usual moxie (this last week notwithstanding).”
Scott Boras would just love to stick it to Sandy Alderson and the Mets. The two have had an acrimonious relationship where each seemingly take turns lobbing insults at each other. Will he thwart any chance the Mets might have to re-sign Harvey, especially when teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, or even the Nats would love to snag a guy like him?
And finally, who knows how Matt Harvey himself is feeling about the team and his future after all that’s transpired? After having so many fingers pointed at him, will The Dark Knight get the last laugh and give a finger back to the Mets?
