Matt Harvey throws for first time since Tommy John surgery
By Hayden Kane
New York Mets phenom Matt Harvey potentially cleared an important hurdle on Saturday, throwing for the first time since he had season-ending Tommy John surgery.
It wasn’t all good news, though. The Mets were not particularly excited about the hype that surrounded the throwing session. Marty Noble of MLB.com writes the following:
"It’s bad enough that Harvey, the hope ‘n hero of the 2013 Mets, threw a baseball 20 times at a distance of 60 feet on Saturday, precisely four months after his right elbow had been sliced open and reconstructed. Actually, that was the best part of the first day of Mets full-squad workouts. That scores of fans, reporters, cameramen and assorted baseball busybodies were among the witnesses … well, that wasn’t in the club’s best interests, the club thought.”"
According to general manager Sandy Alderson, the team might explore having Harvey throw and rehab at a different location to quiet some of the buzz around each step of the process.
"As a rule, our players rehab in Florida…But that’s not a decision we’re going to mandate today. When we get to the end of the spring, we’ll see where he is. There will be discussion between now and then.”"
That’s a nice theory and all, but the way media coverage goes these days, with sources and anxious writers working together to deliver each and every scoop, you better believe that each step of Harvey’s rehab will be made available to us. That’s the result of Harvey’s ridiculous success early on, including his appearance as the starting pitcher for the National League in the 2013 All-Star Game.
The hype isn’t going anywhere for Harvey’s comeback.