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Any a you guys remember Lenny "Nails" Dykstra from the 1980s Mets & Phillies? He had a great career. MVP; NL batting leader; world series ring with the 86 Mets; cover of SI? Known for his tough style of play and hustle.
So, apparently things went awry for Nails off the field. Opiate addiction; prison; health issues, etc.
Well, I saw him on an interview this morning on Colin Cowherd's show. The Herd. This guy has some amazing stories to tell. Apparently he's gonna write a book. from what he said today, I can guarantee you the book is gonna be a bombshell. Every bit if not more as scandalous as Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" was back in its day.
Among the Dykstra tales: when he was playing he spent about $500,000 to hire a team of private investigators to get dirt on several MLB umpires. And then in games Dykstra would use this dirt to get them to make calls in his team's advantage. Some of the umps had gambling problems; affairs, drugs, etc. Dykstra said, that after he got the dirt on these umps and used it: "It's no coincidence that I lead the league in walks the next two years."
Dykstra promises even more outlandish tales in his book.
I was pretty much jaw-dropped listening to this interview.
Any a you guys remember Lenny "Nails" Dykstra from the 1980s Mets & Phillies? He had a great career. MVP; NL batting leader; world series ring with the 86 Mets; cover of SI? Known for his tough style of play and hustle.
So, apparently things went awry for Nails off the field. Opiate addiction; prison; health issues, etc.
Well, I saw him on an interview this morning on Colin Cowherd's show. The Herd. This guy has some amazing stories to tell. Apparently he's gonna write a book. from what he said today, I can guarantee you the book is gonna be a bombshell. Every bit if not more as scandalous as Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" was back in its day.
Among the Dykstra tales: when he was playing he spent about $500,000 to hire a team of private investigators to get dirt on several MLB umpires. And then in games Dykstra would use this dirt to get them to make calls in his team's advantage. Some of the umps had gambling problems; affairs, drugs, etc. Dykstra said, that after he got the dirt on these umps and used it: "It's no coincidence that I lead the league in walks the next two years."
Dykstra promises even more outlandish tales in his book.
I was pretty much jaw-dropped listening to this interview.
What do you guys think about it?
He did the same interview last year with Mike Missanelli on a local Philadelphia radio station. Good stuff from a creepy dude.
I didn't see the interview but his name was discussed on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption just a while ago regarding an upcoming book.
I've no doubt that the upcoming book would be comparable to Jim Bouton's Ball Four regarding notoriety. Until you get to the individuals themselves.
Bouton started out as a pitcher with potential with the NY Yankees. Years later he developed arm problems and in order to extend his career he became a knuckleball pitcher. After Ball Four he penned a couple other books and for a time was a New York sportscaster, I believe.
Wikipedia seems to have a decent overview from Dykstra's, um, career. After his 12 year MLB career, he went downhill fast. His resume is a laundry list; grand theft, indecent exposure, alleged sexual assault, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, concealment of assets, and more. Much more. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dykstra was over 30 million dollars in debt.
Lenny might have at least bothered looking at his own stats before crafting his tail of blackmailing umpires. He did not lead the league in walks twice, just once, that was in 1993. That year serves as an anomaly for Dystra's stats because it was the only year he played a full schedule of games. (161) He had three seasons in the 140's, but only two of his other 12 years did he break 100 games played. For his career he walked once every 8.25 plate appearances, in 1993 that improved to 5.9. However his strikeout rate remained pretty much the same, once every 12 plate appearances for his career, improving to once every 10.5 in 1993. In no other season can we find similar improvements in rates. So if Dystra had dirt on the umpires, it apparently was dirt which expired in value after 1993.
The much more obvious reason for Dystra's improvements becomes apparent when you examine the difference between his time with the Mets and his time with the Phillies. In New York he batted .278/ .350 /.413, in Philadelphia it was .289/.388 /.422.
Batting in Shea Stadium Dystra hit .278/.355/.413 for a .768 OPS. In Veterans Stadium it was 296/.402/.454 for a .856 OPS.
Perhaps Lenny has dreamed up some fantasy about strong arming the umpires, but the move from Shea to Veterans was the actual cause for his improvement.
Ball Four was a big success not just because of its revelations, it was a tremendously well written and genuinely witty book. Bouton had brains.
"Nails" by Dystra is just a mess of anecdotes told in ill educated cliches. It over dignifies it to call it a book.
Lenny might have at least bothered looking at his own stats before crafting his tail of blackmailing umpires. He did not lead the league in walks twice, just once, that was in 1993. That year serves as an anomaly for Dystra's stats because it was the only year he played a full schedule of games. (161) He had three seasons in the 140's, but only two of his other 12 years did he break 100 games played. For his career he walked once every 8.25 plate appearances, in 1993 that improved to 5.9. However his strikeout rate remained pretty much the same, once every 12 plate appearances for his career, improving to once every 10.5 in 1993. In no other season can we find similar improvements in rates. So if Dystra had dirt on the umpires, it apparently was dirt which expired in value after 1993.
The much more obvious reason for Dystra's improvements becomes apparent when you examine the difference between his time with the Mets and his time with the Phillies. In New York he batted .278/ .350 /.413, in Philadelphia it was .289/.388 /.422.
Batting in Shea Stadium Dystra hit .278/.355/.413 for a .768 OPS. In Veterans Stadium it was 296/.402/.454 for a .856 OPS.
Perhaps Lenny has dreamed up some fantasy about strong arming the umpires, but the move from Shea to Veterans was the actual cause for his improvement.
Ball Four was a big success not just because of its revelations, it was a tremendously well written and genuinely witty book. Bouton had brains.
"Nails" by Dystra is just a mess of anecdotes told in ill educated cliches. It over dignifies it to call it a book.
Good post, G-stander. Good stats on Nails, too. I myself am just plain unsure what to make of his allegations on strong-arming the umps. At first when I saw him on The Herd, I believed him. But the more I am hearing from people--like you guys here on CD--the more it seems Nails is a pretty loathsome human being. (Just heard this a.m. on The Herd that Dykstra once sold Wayne Gretzky's house THREE times in one day! LOL)
And yeah, Ball Four will forever remain a classic. Bouton can write, no doubt. (Did you know he co-wrote a novel called "Strike Zone.") While Dykstra admitted to Cowherd that he never even read a book in his life till he got to prison. I find this hard to believe. He said he was afraid that reading would hurt his precious vision needed for batting!
Last edited by Slap_Shot; 10-28-2015 at 02:57 PM..
Lenny was a farce. He did not have a great career and the Phillies should have traded him after 1994.
Hardly a farce, bro.
Nails has a lifetime batting average of .285, and he won the batting title and lead the league in hits twice. He is a 3-time All-Star selection. He has a World series ring. He drove in over 400 runs in his career. These stats would make him a borderline Hall of Fame potential, though that will never happen now with his legal problems and admitted steroid usage.
You sound like a disgruntled fan who probably rooted for the Phillies, and you didn't like Nails. Fine. To each their own. But to call him a farce is totally unfair and biased.
You've got to be kidding. Even if he had won a batting title (which he didn't), a BA of .285 and a career 162 game average of 10 HRs and 51 RBIs is hardly hall of fame potential. He played 1300 games in 12 years, meaning he averaged missing 50+ games a year. Add on his numerous off the field troubles, and the only way he gets into the hall of fame is if somebody lets him through the fire exit door.
You've got to be kidding. Even if he had won a batting title (which he didn't), a BA of .285 and a career 162 game average of 10 HRs and 51 RBIs is hardly hall of fame potential. He played 1300 games in 12 years, meaning he averaged missing 50+ games a year. Add on his numerous off the field troubles, and the only way he gets into the hall of fame is if somebody lets him through the fire exit door.
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