The heartache of the Mets’ loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 NLCS crashed into the devastating collapses of 2007 and 2008, which coincided with the closure of Shea Stadium.

Then it was Mets’ ownership being tangled in a ponzi scheme with Bernie Madoff, a pivotal point in team history that shook it to its core and set the foundation for years of dysfunction and stinginess.

The 2009-2011 Mets didn’t exude much hope. The team at the end of last decade was still riding on the hopes of the success of the Mets from previous seasons with some residual yet unsustainable pieces.

Sandy Alderson was called in to rebuild the Mets after the 2010 season, and started to strip away the pieces and begin a new era.

While 2012-14 didn’t see New York paint the city blue and orange, the tides changed. It started with right-handed pitcher Matt Harvey. For the first time in years, hope was renewed.

On July 26, 2012, Matt Harvey was promoted from Triple-A to start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix for his first MLB start.

All he did was fan 11 batters and collect two base hits, becoming the first player since 1900 to do so.

I remember it vividly. I was glued to my television set the entire game. For the first time in years, the Mets fan base had a future piece to be truly excited about.

Then, they started to come up one by one. Zack Wheeler, Alderson’s first major acquisition, debuted in 2013. Then it was Jacob deGrom in 2014. Noah Syndergaard came up in May, then Steven Matz put on a show at home in his debut in June of 2015. The core was there.

Unfortunately, Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery after a dominant 2013 season that saw him start in the All-Star Game at Citi Field. But the Connecticut native rose like a phoenix from the ashes and came back as an ace in 2015.

Harvey Day was a Mets’ fans holiday every five days. People would show up at Citi Field decked out in Batman masks, or start a roaring chant of “Harvey’s better!” when the team would face off against its rivals.

New York put everything together in 2015 and made it to the World Series. In Game 5 at home with the team trailing the season 3-1, Harvey put it all on the line. The Dark Knight as he had come to be known threw eight amazing innings and begged manager Terry Collins to go out for the ninth.

Collins obliged and Harvey toed the rubber in the ninth inning with the Mets ahead 2-0. Harvey walked the lead off hitter Lorenzo Cain at 109 pitches, but Collins stuck with him. The next batter, Eric Hosmer, drove Cain in with a double and that it was it for Harvey.

Kansas City tied the game in that ninth inning and went on to win the World Series in extra innings. Harvey was never the same. When he left the rubber that ninth inning, that was it for the Dark Knight.

In 2016, Harvey underwent surgery to relieve the effects of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. In 2017 and 2018, the right-hander battled injury combined with a lackluster performance on the field that stemmed from his two major arm surgeries. The Dark Knight became mortal.

The team decided to cut ties with Harvey in 2018 and shipped him off to the Cincinnati Reds for catcher Devin Mesoraco. Harvey pitched to a 4.50 ERA in his time with Cincinnati, and signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels for 2019.

In 12 starts, Harvey had an alarming 7.09 ERA for the Halos and was released. The Oakland Athletics took a flyer on him and pitched him in Triple-A, but he didn’t make it to the big squad.

Now? Harvey remains a free agent, without even so much as a Spring Training invite.

Four and a half years ago, a 26-year-old kid was on top of the mountain, pitching in front of 44,000 people on baseball’s biggest stage. Now, the 31-year-old has sunk into baseball irrelevance and may never pitch in the majors again.

Some might argue that Harvey’s off-the-field colorful personality and drama are the reasons for his downfall. Harvey wasn’t a saint by any means and let the New York lifestyle go to his ego. That much is true, but coming back from two major arm injuries, especially Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is enough to derail even the most talented of pitchers.

Harvey was larger than life. A North Carolina Tar Heel turned MLB ace had the makeup to be an ace for years to come. It didn’t pan out that way.

Mets fans will always have 2013 and 2015, but they wanted the dream, not the reality. Harvey pitching atop the Mets’ rotation leading them to the Canyon of Heroes.

A tragic story indeed filled with untapped potential and lingering effects of how cruel this life can be.