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Matt Harvey apologizes: 'I'm extremely embarrassed by my actions'

Mike Oz

A contrite Matt Harvey returned to Citi Field on Tuesday, having served his three-game suspension from the New York Mets. Talking to the media for the first time since his suspension, he acknowledged much of what we’ve heard the past few days: It was his fault. He was out late Friday night. He was golfing Saturday morning. And then he offered up his apology.

“I’m extremely embarrassed by my actions,” said the 28-year-old Mets pitcher.

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Harvey was scheduled to start on Sunday before he no-showed Saturday and thus, was suspended. The New York Post’s Page Six had reported Harvey was partying until 4 a.m. on Friday night. Harvey reportedly told the Mets he had a migraine.

Here are Harvey’s opening remarks, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:

Here’s the meat of Harvey’s apology, if you prefer to read it:

“Yes, I was out on Friday night past curfew. I did play golf Saturday morning. I put myself in a bad place to be ready for showing up for a ballgame that is my responsibility. I take full blame for that. I apologized to my teammates, I apologized to the coaches. I’m doing everything in my power so that never happens again. Like I said, I’m extremely embarrassed for my actions. I’m looking forward to getting things back on track and doing everything I can to help this team win and help this organization moving forward. They all have my word on that.”

According to Newsday’s Marc Carig, Harvey spoke to his teammates for 10-15 minutes before addressing the media. He broke down in tears while recounting all the things he’d done wrong.

Matt Harvey
Matt Harvey

When it was his turn to speak to the media, Mets manager Terry Collins said the ordeal could be a wake-up call for Harvey, who has struggled since the start of last season:

Collins was also asked whether Harvey has an issue with alcohol and Collins’ answer said, “I’m not qualified to answer that.”

One thing that wasn’t present during Harvey’s apology was any conflict with the Mets. The two sides have had drama for years and after his suspension — which the Mets didn’t explain publicly — we heard two different sides.

One side was Harvey not showing up, the Mets texting him, then sending security personnel to check on him. The other side had Harvey texting the Mets (after the deadline to do so) on Saturday to say he had a migraine. That side included Harvey’s camp thinking the Mets were snooping on him or didn’t believe him. There were reports about Harvey considering filing a grievance against the Mets too.

None of that was aired during his news conference on Tuesday. Harvey took full responsibility and didn’t clash with the Mets front office. He did say later that he hasn’t filed a grievance, but also didn’t say he wouldn’t file one.

There’s been talk in the past two days that Harvey has lost credibility in the Mets clubhouse. One unnamed player told Newsday: “He wants to be Derek Jeter. To do that, you’ve got to show up.”

Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson proved that Harvey wasn’t the only person saying all the right things on Tuesday:

Harvey is scheduled to return to action for the Mets on Friday against the Brewers in Milwaukee. So far this season, he’s 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA in six starts.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!