The Dark Knight returns -- and plans to do so more often

NEW YORK -- As Matt Harvey prepared to film a promotional scoreboard video early Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, a team staffer handed him a Mets jersey to wear. Struggling for a moment to slip his arm into the sleeve, Harvey smiled.

“It’s been a while,” he said.

Although Harvey had been to several prior games this season, he has not been much of a presence at Citi Field for many years. Now retired from his playing career for good, however, Harvey hopes to become more of one. On Saturday alone, Harvey filmed the scoreboard video as well as a social media reel, recorded a podcast and conducted an interview. He has told vice president of alumni relations Jay Horwitz that he’d like to be as involved as possible.

For Harvey, returning to Citi Field invokes memories mostly of the good times -- his rookie season in 2012, his Dark Knight blockbuster summer one year later, and of course his World Series run in 2015. At this point, Harvey has come to peace with the valleys in between -- the surgeries, the tabloid items, the suspensions.

“I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve accepted my failures and my misdoings and can’t change that -- can’t change anything,” Harvey said.

After the Mets traded Harvey to the Reds midway through the 2018 season, he spent parts of three more years in the Majors. Following an uneven summer in Baltimore’s Minor League system in 2022, Harvey continued throwing through the offseason -- partially in hopes of landing a new deal somewhere, but also to prepare for his role as a starting pitcher for Team Italy in the ’23 World Baseball Classic. That wound up being a success, with Harvey allowing just one run in seven innings.

But as Harvey threw a bullpen session following his final start, a bone spur broke off inside his right elbow. Had Italy advanced, he likely would not have been able to pitch. Ultimately, Italy was eliminated, and Harvey underwent his fifth career surgery for a spur so large that orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joshua Dines had to rip open his old Tommy John scar to remove it.

Shortly thereafter, Harvey took a job in real estate, hoping to gain a better understanding of what many of his closest friends did for a living. He spent a little over a year at the Newmark agency before taking a job this summer at First Nationwide, a title insurance company run by longtime Mets superfan Steve Napolitano. In that role, Harvey entertains clients on the golf course, at restaurants and at Citi Field -- a place he realized he had begun to miss.

“After taking really a year off of watching and paying attention, I think me missing the game is definitely starting to come into play,” Harvey said.

Commuting through traffic from Manhattan on Saturday, Harvey brightened up as he parked in the players’ lot and interacted with many people from his past -- security guards, clubhouse staffers and the like. The Mets were expecting a sellout crowd, which added to the emotion.

“When I was at my best, driving into the stadium when I knew it was going to be packed and I knew it was a meaningful game, it started in the morning,” Harvey said. “I was pretty fired up. … Those games are what you play for. The amount of adrenaline you get from those games, you can’t really explain it.”

Harvey still keeps in touch with several of his old Mets teammates, including David Wright and Josh Satin, who will make up part of a golfing foursome later this month in Los Angeles. But for the most part, baseball is in his past. In his prime, Harvey had difficulty doing anything around New York City without fans hounding him. These days, he finds himself surprised when a fan stops him to ask for a selfie.

“I think sometimes I forget,” Harvey said, reflecting on his fame.

At Citi Field, however, Harvey remains as prominent a face as anyone. Despite all that has happened, Queens will -- in many ways -- always seem like home to him.

“I feel like the times I have come, I’ve gotten some pretty good support and feedback from fans and people,” Harvey said. “Getting a chance to do that, and kind of include the business side of it where I can bring clients and they can experience the game in a different way with someone who played here, it’s become pretty special.

“I would love to come back here as much as they want me to come back and get involved.”