Matt Harvey: Why NY Mets and Fans Need His Presence

Matt Harvey is already one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball.

He is the ace of the New York Mets. The 24-year-old phenom has caught the attention of baseball fans with his incredible talent.

As most fans have already heard, Harvey has a partial UCL tear in his pitching elbow. It is a catastrophic turn of events for a franchise that is in the midst of rebuilding. He has had a potential Cy Young award opportunity taken away from him because of this injury.

Harvey may require Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2014 season.

What makes the injury so tragic is that Harvey is one of the few potential mainstream superstars in baseball. 

A mainstream star is someone who can branch out across multiple platforms and appeal to the masses.

Bryce Harper and Mike Trout are the only two players that have had this type of exposure in the last few years. Trout with his Subway commercials, and Harper with his Under Armour endorsement have broken through a little bit. 

Harvey has had the most exposure of any player this year. He put himself into the public's consciousness with several cross-over opportunities. The cover of Sports Illustrated accelerated the fan frenzy surrounding him. 

His most controversial move was when he posed for the ESPN Body Issue. No doubt, he gained some non-baseball fans with the exposure from that. 

He is articulate and presents himself well in public. Thanks to New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, he knows how to look the part. This helped him when he made his late night debut in something completely out of his element.

Harvey appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon the day before he started in the All-Star Game. He was absolutely hilarious in the skit where few people in New York knew what he looked like. His comedic timing was absolute gold, and it became a YouTube sensation. Non-fans saw a player who had personality, likability and the look of a star.

He was well on his way to becoming the King of New York. The sport will miss him next season if he has to go under the knife. It's bad timing that he got hurt when he did.  

He draws people to the TV to watch his every move. It is a quality that you can't describe.

As they say in Pro Wrestling, Harvey has "it." Very few players in baseball have this attribute.

There is always the chance that he may not recover completely from the surgery. However, I have faith that the Mets will move him along at the appropriate pace if it is necessary.  

Fans will be waiting anxiously to see what will happen to him when he comes back. Until then, we can only anticipate what the sport's newest star will do next.