Mets' Matt Harvey Apologizes, Says He's 'Embarrassed' Over Actions That Led To 3-Game Suspension
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Matt Harvey sat before a room filled with reporters at Citi Field on Tuesday and said he was sorry for making mistakes that led to his three-game suspension.
"I apologized (to teammates) for my actions, and I do apologize for my actions," Harvey said. "I am extremely embarrassed. Yes, I was out on Friday night past curfew. I did play golf Saturday morning and put myself in a bad place for showing up to a ballgame."
The Mets suspended Harvey without pay after the onetime ace failed to make it to Saturday's home game against the Marlins.
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Harvey sent a text message to pitching coach Dan Warthen telling him he was suffering from a migraine and couldn't make it to the ballpark. According to multiple reports, the text came only after Warthen called Harvey, who did not answer, when manager Terry Collins noticed the pitcher was not at batting practice.
The New York Post reported that Harvey was out drinking at 1Oak nightclub in the Meatpacking District until 4 a.m. Saturday. He then played golf later that morning, according to multiple reports.
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Jon Heyman of WFAN and FanRag Sports also reported that Mets security visited Harvey at his Manhattan apartment around 10 p.m. Saturday to see if his story checked out.
Harvey was not scheduled to pitch Saturday, but he was slated to start Sunday before being suspended. He also apologized to fans who attended Sunday's game expecting to see him pitch.
Harvey returned from his suspension Tuesday. He is not scheduled to pitch again until Friday at Milwaukee.
Saturday's incident was not the first of its kind for Harvey. In October 2015, just before the playoffs, he missed a mandatory workout.
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"People make mistakes. I think I've made another mistake," Harvey said Tuesday. "There are things that I have realized in the last couple of days that I need to be doing or should not be doing, and one of those that I should be doing is putting myself in a better place to perform physically and be accountable for my work, and that's something that I'm committing to.
"Like I said, I made a mistake, and I apologize, and all I can do is continue to work to be better and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Harvey is reportedly considering filing a grievance against the Mets over the suspension. When asked about it, he said it has not been on his mind, but he did not rule it out.
Mets manager Terry Collins has said he expects Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, to challenge the discipline. Baseball's labor contract says any punishment must be for "just cause."
While the Mets had refused to say Sunday specifically what prompted the suspension, citing only a violation of team rules, Collins went into more detail Monday.
"We have a policy here. We had to do something," Collins said. "I respect it. I thought it was the right thing to do. I know it's dramatic, but I think any team in baseball would have probably reacted very similarly. And it wasn't just Matt Harvey. Anybody in that room that misses a day and nobody knows about it, we've got to do the same thing."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
