October, 2006: a 17 year old Matt Harvey is a senior at Fitch Senior High School in Groton, Connecticut, eight months away from being selected by the Angels in the MLB draft, and less than a year away from attending North Carolina and playing baseball for the Tar Heels.  During that same time, the National League Championship Series between the Cardinals and the Mets took place.

October 19, 2006: the night Mets fans would unknowingly be submersed into the throes of a six year period of darkness.  An Adam Wainwright curveball swooping down at the knees over the outside corner to a frozen Carlos Beltran ended their season and jettisoned the Mets into six years of turmoil both on and off the field.

Flash forward to present day and the darkness has started to subside.  The Mets and their fans now have something to be hopeful about, something to be proud of, and someone to get behind.  Matt Harvey has burst onto the scene to usher in a new dawn for the Mets and their fans.  They can finally use those Jason Bay t-shirts to wax their cars before they throw on a fresh number 33 as they head to Citi Field this summer.

There is an intangible quality that certain players possess that can change the culture of a team.  It’s a certain swagger, a projection of unbridled confidence that can alter the attitude and aura of an entire franchise.  Matt Harvey may be that player for the New York Mets.  Every time he takes the mound he expects to win, and after watching him for over 100 innings so does everyone else.   Yes, the Mets are not going to seriously contend this season, but they are building something that can certainly be a winner sooner than later.  The buzz around Matt Harvey is what I imagine the buzz was like when Mets fans saw Tom Seaver or Dwight Gooden emerge as their aces.

The only question that remains is how good will Matt Harvey be?  We all know how good he can be, but we’ve also seen pitchers rise and fall quickly, Doc Gooden being an unfortunate example of that type of decline.  I did some research to compare the starts of the careers of both Matt Harvey and Dwight Gooden.  When put side by side, as surprising as it may sound to old school Mets fans, Harvey is actually better so far through their first 100 plus innings.

Now I realize we are talking about 100 innings, but this kid is the real deal.  His mechanics are flawless, he has a powerful arm, and his attitude and demeanor are that of a ten year veteran.  Mets fans of the early 80’s went crazy for Dwight Gooden, and the same thing is happening nearly thirty years later with Matt Harvey.  The sky is the limit in regards to what he achieves for his career.   If Harvey goes about his business the right way, and the Mets don’t screw him up, he will be in New York for a long time and do a lot of winning in the process.  It’s not exactly time to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy yet in Queens, but as far away as the Mets are from 1986, they’re that much closer to the next one.  The future is bright for the Mets, because there is a new doctor in town: Matt Harvey.