Mets' Matt Harvey says he's 'embarrassed' by portrayal in magazine article

Mets ace Matt Harvey said of the Men's Journal article that detailed his nightlife, "The way I was portrayed is not who I am." (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Young New York Mets ace Matt Harvey delivered a statement on the mound by pitching seven shutout innings against the Phillies on Sunday, then another in the clubhouse after the game.

After his first start since making headlines for his comments in a Men's Journal article -- in which he delved into his single life, calling Derek Jeter a "model" for his ability to meet women without the public knowing -- Harvey said he was "embarrassed" by the way he was portrayed in the article.

"The way I was portrayed is not who I am and not the person I am," he said, according to the New York Times' Andrew Keh.

https://twitter.com/andrewkeh/status/359053420042264577

The 24-year-old -- who also recently posed nude in ESPN the Magazine's "The Body" issue -- said he wanted to "deal with it on the field," according to Newsday's Marc Carig, which manager Terry Collins said that he noticed while watching Harvey strike out 10, walk none and allow just three hits.

https://twitter.com/MarcCarig/status/359043587259899906

From ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin:

https://twitter.com/AdamRubinESPN/status/359039103284686848

In the Men's Journal story, Harvey, who US Weekly reported was dating Sports Illustrated supermodel Anne Vyalitsyna in May, detailed his nightlife while living in Manhattan's East Village, making several comments that stirred controversy among Mets fans.

Unlike his teammates, many of whom sequester themselves in McMansions out in the suburbs, Harvey lives in a bachelor pad in the East Village, a downtown neighborhood known for its raucous bar scene, which he indulges in on occasion. "I'm young, I'm single," he says. "I want to be in the mix."

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Not that you'll catch Harvey dissing Jeter. "That guy is the model," he says. "I mean, first off, let's just look at the women he's dated. Obviously, he goes out – he's meeting these girls somewhere – but you never hear about it. That's where I want to be."

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Still, Harvey is quick to add that he curbs such nightlife indulgence leading up to a game. "I have a 48-hour rule," he says. "No drinking two days before a start. But those other days? Yes, I'm gonna go out. If I was locked up in my house all week, I don't know what I'd be like on the baseball field."

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