Lenny Dykstra
| Lenny Dykstra | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Center fielder | |||
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Born: February 10, 1963 Santa Ana, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 3, 1985, for the New York Mets | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 18, 1996, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .285 | ||
| Home runs | 81 | ||
| Runs batted in | 404 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Leonard Kyle "Lenny" Dykstra (/ˈdaɪkstrə/; born February 10, 1963), is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. Dykstra played for the New York Mets from 1985 to 1989 and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989 to 1996.
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 consequently named the Carolina League's 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 Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton warming up were, "Shit, I'll stick him."
In 1985 Dykstra, deemed ready for the major leagues, 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 were a big boost to a Mets team that surged to a 98-win season and narrowly missed out on the NL East crown. The following season, Dykstra was first intended to be platooned in center field with Wilson, but when Mookie suffered a severe eye injury during spring training Dykstra took over the position as outright starter and leadoff hitter. Later that season, the Mets released left fielder George Foster and moved Wilson to left. Mets fans soon nicknamed Dykstra "Nails" for his hard-nosed personality and fearless play. In 1986, he even posed shirtless for a "beefcake" poster under the "Nails" nickname. Dykstra and #2 hitter Wally Backman were termed "the Wild Boys" for their scrappy play as spark plugs for the star-studded Met lineup.
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