On a night the Mets hosted an All-Star Game for the first time in almost a half-century, the team’s past, present, and future were each represented. 

David Wright, participating in his seventh mid-summer classic, served as unofficial ambassador. His duties included catching the ceremonial first pitch from Tom Seaver, who not surprisingly has the most All-Star appearances of any Amazin’ with nine. Wright also won the fan balloting at third base and manager Bruce Bochy slotted him in the clean-up spot of the starting lineup.

The actual first pitch also came from a Met. Matt Harvey was the headliner as far as partisan Citi Field was concerned. Following in the footsteps of “The Franchise,” who started in 1970, and Dwight Gooden, who received the honor in 1986 and ‘88, Harvey earned the nod in his first full major league season. 

For those outside the Big Apple who were unaware of his persona and pitching prowess, they got glimpses of it over the course of just 32 pitches. Harvey brushed off early jitters to toss two scoreless innings before the announced crowd of 45,186 — the largest in the brief history of Mets’ new park. 

Sporting new bright orange cleats, the 24-year-old opened with a 97-mile-per hour fastball to Mike Trout — which the multiple-MVP winner promptly drilled down the right-field line for a double. His third pitch, a fastball clocked at 96, drilled Robinson Cano near the right knee, which forced the Yankee second baseman to leave the game. He settled down from there, retiring the next three batters including a strikeout of reigning Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. 

Harvey rode that momentum into a much easier second inning. He got David Ortiz to fly out, fanned Adam Jones, and retired Joe Mauer on a liner to left. Much of the 45,000-plus stood and cheered after his 32nd and final pitch.

As for Wright, he singled in the seventh off Greg Holland — the last of his three at-bats in the game and, as it turned out, his final All-Star appearance. The same was true for Mariano Rivera, who had announced his retirement at season’s end. He entered to a long standing ovation before his outing in the eighth and was awarded the Most Valuable Player in a 3-0 American League victory. But for those rooting for the Mets, the primary highlights during this game were provided by “The Dark Knight.” 

“When I’m warming up out there, and they start chanting my name, that’s something, as a kid, I don’t think you can ever imagine,” Harvey said to The New York Times. “This whole experience has been absolutely incredible for me. It’s something I’ll never forget.”