Matt Harvey must be feeling pretty good about himself right now. The pitcher’s elbow injury is healing well, or so he says, and he wraps up a winning season in his first full season in Major League Baseball. Yesterday, MLB reported that Harvey ranked #2 in the jerseys sold this half of the season.
Surprising, as he hasn’t pitched for a month and with no national holidays worthy of gift buying, it’s hard for many to understand how the 24-year-old nearly topped the best-selling list.
Whether or not he’s worthy of this ‘accolade’ is a discussion to be had down the bar or in the Betfair forums. More important than worthiness is what the list actually implies.
Being so popular suggests Matt Harvey is increasingly becoming a role model for Mets fans young and old. His game has improved this season but it certainly isn’t at a level to match the hype and sadly recent controversies may be driving the sales – not his game.
Modelling yourself on Derek Jeter is great for your baseball but not for public image. Harvey is still suffering from that Men’s Journal article this summer but his jersey sales aren’t.
Clearly fans who bet on the World Series with betfair like a lovable scamp and there’s plenty to admire in Harvey, but he must be careful not to push the boundaries too far now he’s directly in the public gaze. Young fans idolize him, and with that comes great responsibility.
Hopefully, Harvey has seen the jersey list and appreciates what it means. Next season he must hit the ground running and throw like an All-Star pitcher, or the critics will be ready to put him in his place if he slips up.
We’ve said for a while now this special player had tremendous potential and this season he’s proven capable of meeting it. Now it’s time to push his game further.
