Lenny Dykstra

Leonard Kyle Dykstra (/ˈdaɪkstrə/ DYK-strə; born February 10, 1963), nicknamed Nails and Dude, is an American former professional baseball center fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a three-time All-Star and won a World Series championship as a member of the 1986 Mets.

Since his retirement, Dykstra has been mired in financial and legal troubles. In 2009, he filed for bankruptcy. Since then, he has been charged with various crimes, including bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, grand theft auto, uttering terroristic threats, drug possession, and indecent exposure. Dykstra has served 6+1⁄2 months in federal prison.

Lenny Dykstra was born Leonard Kyle Leswick on February 10, 1963, in Santa Ana, California. Dykstra's father, Terry Leswick, abandoned the family when Dykstra was four years of age. Dykstra's mother, Marilyn, later married Dennis Dykstra, a phone company employee. Dennis Dykstra adopted Lenny. Lenny Dykstra has two brothers: Brian and Kevin.

Dykstra's uncles, Pete, Jack, and Tony Leswick, played in the National Hockey League.

Dykstra attended Garden Grove High School in Orange County, California. During his senior year, he hit .494 with 50 hits on the season, which was just two short of the state record. He had a career total of 89 stolen bases, second best in state history at the time, and recorded a hit in all 27 games of his senior season. In both his junior and senior seasons he was named all-league, all-county, and all-state. He was named 3-A co-player of the year in 1981. In the Orange County All-Star baseball game he reached base all eight times he came to bat, earning five hits, a walk, and reaching base on two errors, and stole five bases. He also played football, where he was named 2nd team all-county and team MVP as a defensive back.

Dykstra was originally committed to play baseball at Arizona State University for Jim Brock but said he would sign to play professionally if drafted high enough. The Mets signed Dykstra as a 13th-round draft pick in 1981. A star in the minors, in 1983 he led the Carolina League in at-bats, runs, hits, triples, batting average and stolen bases. That season, he hit .358 with 8 HR, 81 RBI, 105 stolen bases (a league record for 17 years), 107 walks and only 35 strikeouts. He was subsequently named the Carolina League MVP, and soon emerged as one of the Mets' prized prospects. While playing in Double-A in 1984 he befriended fellow outfielder and teammate Billy Beane, who later said that Dykstra was "perfectly designed, emotionally" to play baseball and that he had "no concept of failure." According to Beane, his first comments on seeing future Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton warming up were, "Shit, I'll stick him."

In 1985, Dykstra was promoted to the Mets when the team's starting center fielder, Mookie Wilson, was placed on the disabled list. The rookie's play and energy was a big boost to a Mets team that surged to a 98-win season, narrowly missing out on the NL East crown by 3 games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The following season, Dykstra was intended to be platooned in center field with Wilson, but took over the position as outright starter and leadoff hitter when Wilson suffered a severe eye injury during spring training. As the season progressed, Wilson began to get more playing time in left field, as the incumbent leftfielder, George Foster, was struggling, eventually getting released. This allowed Dykstra and Wilson to start in the outfield together, along with star rightfielder Darryl Strawberry. Dykstra earned the nickname "Nails" for his hard-nosed personality and fearless play. Also in 1986, Dykstra posed shirtless for a "beefcake" poster under the "Nails" nickname. Dykstra and #2 hitter Wally Backman were tagged as "The Partners in Grime" for their scrappy play as spark plugs for the star-studded Met lineup.

With Dykstra as leadoff hitter, the 1986 Mets coasted to the division crown, beating the second-place Philadelphia Phillies by 21.5 games en route to a 108–54 season. The Mets ended up in the World Series after a victory over the NL West champion Houston Astros in the 1986 NLCS, 4 games to 2. Dykstra hit a walk-off home run in Game 3, which is considered one of the biggest hits in Mets franchise history and of Dykstra's career. He hit .304 in the 1986 NLCS, and then .296 in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. His leadoff home run in Game 3 at Fenway Park sparked the Mets, who had lost the first games of the Series at home at Shea Stadium. Dykstra's leadoff home run in Game Three made him the third Met in team history (along with Tommie Agee and Wayne Garrett, both of whose home runs also came in a Game 3, in the 1969 and 1973 World Series respectively), to hit a leadoff home run in the World Series. Following Dykstra's home run, the Mets won Game 3 in blowout fashion 7–1, eventually rallying to defeat the Red Sox in seven games.