“And when you factor in the control the teams have over players in their minor league careers, you’re talking about as much as 12 or 13 years before a player can really have any leverage where he’s not dependent on the organization or an arbitrator,” Cone said.

Standard union orthodoxy supports higher pay for those with seniority, but professional sports — while requiring governing scales — is ultimately about a player’s race to maximize earning potential before the onset of body betrayal. Hackneyed news media coverage too often harps on aging players whose performance is no longer commensurate with the back end of a contract while being too accepting of the bargain-basement prices teams pay for their precocious stars.

Since his major league arrival in 2012, Harvey has been a prodigy on the mound, a draw at the gate, with a year off to recover from right elbow surgery. His salary this season is $614,125, considerably less than some high-end journalists and commentators gleefully taking critical measure of his character.

Those who write and talk for a living can count on a career lasting decades. Harvey will probably be taking up bowling or fly-fishing by his mid- to late 30s. Such is the baseball life span of a hard-throwing pitcher.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Harvey is eligible for arbitration in 2016, but will not reach full-blown free agency until 2019, or entering his age-30 season. Worse off than Harvey is another Mets pitcher, Jacob deGrom, 27, who is targeted for free agency in 2021. Forget a few miles off the fastball; he may be losing his hair by then.

Harvey should earn several million through arbitration next season, so let’s hold off on the charity telethon. He and deGrom could also earn the security of a multiyear deal by allowing the Mets to buy out their arbitration years. But that would assume the Mets are willing, and would still mean unilateral control of the market by the team over its prize pitchers, both of whom have had reconstructive elbow surgery.

“Even with position players having their arbitration years bought out, they’re not getting full value,” Cone said. “Let 28, 29 teams bid for Mike Trout. What’s he going to be worth?”