New York Mets ace Matt Harvey declined through a team spokesman to discuss a report that he challenged then-teammate Jon Rauch to a fight last season, but Mets sources told The New York Daily News that the incident did in fact occur — and it was not the only time that Rauch irritated Harvey.
Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday that Harvey threatened to beat up Rauch last year after the journeyman reliever threw water on Harvey during a nap. According to a source, Rauch was “all over” Harvey after the phenom’s July callup from Triple-A, regularly yelling at him and riding him, as veterans often do to rookies.
Rauch, according to people who saw the incident, barged into the room with bucket of ice water, which he proceeded to dump on Harvey. It waterlogged Harvey’s phone, which was resting on his chest as an alarm, and incited an even more electrical reaction inside Harvey.
He bounded up and challenged Rauch to a fight. Right there. Right then. He gave up 7 inches, about 75 pounds and a gallon or so of bad ink. It didn’t matter that he was a rookie. Harvey would not be a joke. He would not be a punch line in Rauch’s re-telling. He would not let some mediocre clown play him.
Rauch, the big righty, recently released by Marlins, basically sealed his fate at Citi Field with the prank and was not re-signed this year.
Harvey is a pretty big guy. Listed at 6’4″, 225 pounds, he’s the type of sturdily built young man that most guys wouldn't think of irking or messing with.
But Harvey’s former teammate is an even bigger bruiser. At 6’11″ and 290 pounds, Rauch's got the size to make your average NBA player look like a grade school crossing guard.
Nevertheless, both pitchers are big, but one is big by pitching potential standards and the other is big by being just plain huge — and the largest man to ever play Major League Baseball.
Harvey endured the taunts for a time, then decided he’d had enough, challenging Rauch in front of teammates; the 6-foot-11 reliever quickly backed down, witnesses said.
“He just packed up his s--- and walked away,” said one player.
Inside the clubhouse, where Rauch was generally regarded as an unpopular whiner, Harvey’s behavior was generally regarded in a positive light. Although baseball’s medieval codes of conduct call for rookies to obey veterans, some teammates considered Rauch’s behavior excessive, according to clubhouse sources.
A free agent after the season, Rauch tried to re-sign with the Mets and was rebuffed, according to one source. He landed with Miami, was later released and signed a minor league deal with Baltimore.
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