MATT TAKES FIRST STEP

But next step will tell much more

MATT Harvey has gone back on his word before that he would make baseball his No.1 priority, so I need proof, in the form of his actions, before I can believe what sounded like a heartfelt apology Tuesday for the unprofessional behavior that got the Mets’ pitcher suspended.

As even Terry Collins said, speaking in general of these situations: “Don’t tell me. Show me.”

But I think you can say unequivocally that Harvey realizes he is at a crossroads in his baseball career, and perhaps his personal life as well, which is why his entire press conference sounded at least somewhat like a cry for help.

What kind of help? Obviously that’s a delicate area, and it’s not fair to speculate beyond a certain point, but Harvey himself admitted to being out late Friday night, essentially confirming reports that people saw him in a Manhattan club as late as 4 a.m., and then played golf Saturday morning.

So, at best, it sounds like he didn’t sleep until perhaps late Saturday afternoon. And even if he did have a migraine headache, which Mets people say they don’t believe for a second as the reason he didn’t show up at Citi Field on Saturday, it’s quite possibleHarvey went more than 24 hours without sleeping the day before he was scheduled to take the mound at Citi Field.

To be sure, that’s an indication of some type of problem. At worst, then, well, who knows? Mets people say Harvey was upset about the state of a personal relationship with Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, which apparently influenced his decision to be out so late with friends.

But they also admit privately they were concerned enough about Harvey’s late-night behavior that they asked him on Tuesday if he thought he needed some time away from baseball, as in going to rehab. However, the one-time ace was insistent that he doesn’t have that type of problem.

Nevertheless, Collins made it clear that Harvey does need help of some kind in getting his priorities straightened out.

“Matt’s got a pretty good support group,’’ Collins said. “There are a lot of people that are willing to help and I think he’s going to use them. I don’t think he has to do it by himself anymore

“I think he knows he’s got people in his corner, no matter what their title is, that are going to help him try to go down the right path and do the right things.”

Clearly that’s a bit ambiguous, seemingly implying that Harvey needs help off the field as well as on, where he’s coming off two bad starts. That led to Collins being asked whether the club thinks Harvey has a problem related to his lifestyle — he was asked specifically about alcohol — but the manager made a point of avoiding specifics.

“I didn’t get into that stuff with him,’’ he said. “I told him he needs to make baseball No. 1. When he did that, he was on top of the world.

“I know there are people that he’s discussed it with, the professionals on that side of it. I just told him he needs to re-focus his energies toward being the best in the game again. Now along the way, obviously it’s going to be tough at times beacause he’s going to have some downs. But that’s where the support people have to be there for him.”

Privately Mets people said Harvey has spoken at least semi-regularly with the team’s mental skills coach.

So it seems clear Harvey is in a fragile state, at least partly because he’s lost confidence in his pitching, two surgeries after once being the toast of the town — and one who flaunted the A-list celebrity lifestyle.

Which is why, as furious as the Mets were about his no-show on Saturday, suspending him for three days without pay, the club felt it would be a mistake to expose him to angry fans by having him start at home today.

Instead, he’ll get two starts on the upcoming road trip, which will give him the chance to pitch his way back into the good graces of the Citi Field faithful.

As one Mets person said, “I know people say, ‘make him face the music by pitching at home,’ but we’re trying to win games here. He’s going to get booed if he goes out there, and he’s not in the right frame of mind to handle that right now.”

That seemed pretty obvious during Harvey’s press conference on Tuesday. He was more humble and contrite than he’s ever been as a Met, taking responsibility for his no-show Saturday and essentially saying he deserved to be suspended. His one misstep during the presser was saying he wouldn’t rule out filing a grievance over the suspension, but even Mets people saw that as a way of merely placating his agent, Scott Boras.

After all, it’s awfully hard to say “it’s all my fault” and then expect to win a grievance on the matter.

Again, I need to see him back up his pledge to change his ways to believe it. After all, he made similar promises after famously missing that post-season workout two years ago, so in that sense, while he has talked about wanting to be like Derek Jeter (who also dated Lima), so far he has behaved more like the Alex Rodriguez who vowed that he was done with PEDs after being outed in 2009.

The question is what to make of it all. On the human side, it was a good sign that Harvey is willing to admit to his embarrassment, grovel for forgiveness, and vow to walk the straight and narrow. On the superhero side, however, the sight of a humbled, defanged Harvey was the ultimate evidence as to how far removed he is from that whole Dark Knight persona of a superstar pitcher.

And, unfortunately for the Mets, it’s quite possible that no amount of help will bring that guy back.