Former All-Star pitcher Mitch Williams was stuck in traffic on Tuesday night and missed the first few innings of the Midsummer Classic at Citi Field.
Williams didn’t see Matt Harvey give up a leadoff double to Mike Trout. He didn’t see the Mets ace then hit Robinson Cano with a pitch. But upon learning Harvey retired the next six batters — recording three strikeouts — Williams smiled.
“That’s why he’s my pick for the Cy Young,” Williams, now an MLB Network analyst, said yesterday at the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation golf outing. “He ain’t scared of nothing. He’s never in trouble. I love his whole demeanor on the mound. With his stuff, he’s the real deal.”
Williams, who pitched for six teams in his 11 big-league seasons, thinks Harvey is so good he compares with the 24-year-old to Roger Clemens, who at the same age had won an MVP and back-to-back Cy Young Awards. But Williams thinks the Mets phenom is even tougher to hit.
“I said the first time I saw [Harvey] that I thought he was the closest thing to Roger Clemens I’ve seen since I came to the big leagues in ’86,” said Williams. “Nothing affects him. The only difference is that he’s more advanced than ‘Rocket’ was at this age. Rocket had two pitches, Harvey’s got four. He thinks, ‘I’m going to beat you and you see if you can beat me and then I’ll go on to the next guy.’ ”