Lenny Dykstra

Lenny Dykstra is a former professional baseball outfielder. He was drafted by the New York Mets in 13th Round (315th overall) of 1981 amateur entry draft. Dykstra's least season was in 1996.

Dykstra was sued by a former assistant on March 12, 2010, claiming she forced to perform sexual favors for him.http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0310101dykstra4.html

Dykstra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July of 2009, claiming he had less than $50,000 in assets and between $10 million and $50 million in debt.http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4313487 Dykstra later said that the bankruptcy was a result of him being the victim of bank fraud by a mortgage broker.http://www.cnbc.com/id/31833973

Dykstra was signed by the New York Mets on July 3, 1981. On June 18, 1989, he was traded by the Mets with Tom Edens and Roger McDowell to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel.Baseball-Reference.com: Lenny Dykstra Statistics

He was a three-time All-Star Selection (1990, 1994, 1995) and won the Silver Slugger Award in 1993.The Baseball Cube: Lenny Dykstra Statistics

Dykstra was a catalyst for two memorable National League teams in the World Series during the latter half of the 20th Century.

He was the lead-off hitter for the 1986 World Series champion New York Mets. Dykstra hit .285 that season in 431 at-bats, smacking eight home runs, stealing 31 bases and scoring 77 runs. In the National League Championship Series, he hit the winning two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off of Houston Astros reliever Charlie Kerfeld to give the Mets a 4-3 victory in that game. He later quipped that the last walk-off home run he had hit prior to that was in the board game Strat-O-Matic Baseball.

In the World Series, he hit a lead-off home run in Game 3 of the series in Boston, becoming the third Mets player all-time and in succession to hit lead-off homers in the third game of a World Series (Tommy Agee and Wayne Garrett were the others). The Mets would dramatically win that series in seven games.

He later played for the Philadelphia Phillies and helped them to reach the 1993 World Series. That season, he led the National League in runs, hits, walks, and at-bats, as well as setting career highs in home runs, doubles, and RBI. He finished second that year to Barry Bonds in the MVP balloting.

In 2009, Coughlin, a former photo editor for Dykstra's magazine The Player's Club, said in an interview with GQ Magazine that Dykstra was racist and homophobic. Coughlin said that Dykstra had said several racist, sexist and homophobic comments during the time Coughlin worked at the magazine. According to Coughlin, Dykstra used several racial, homophobic and sexist slurs at the office. Dykstra responded to the interview by saying that Coughlin was lying because he was upset that he was fired from the job.New York Daily News: Lenny Dykstra, formerly of the Mets, is 'nailed' as racist in mag (March 17, 2009)

• Baseball-Reference.com: Career Stats
  • Height: 5' 10"
  • Weight: 160 lbs
  • MLB Rookie Year: 1985

• February 10, 1963: Born in Santa Ana, California

• 1981: Graduated at Garden Grove High School, Drafted by New York Mets

• 1985-1989: New York Mets

• 1989-1996: Philadelphia Phillies

• 1998: Retirement