Lenny Dykstra....Nails...chewin' tobacco spittle dribbling down his chin, uniform covered in dirt from slide into 2nd base or a diving catch in Center Field. I saw him play as a Met in 1986 at Shea when he dropped a home run into the Bullpen against the Astros. My College buddies were Mets fans and took me to the NLCS game.I knew he was a Helluva ballplayer.
Fast forward to 1993. Nails had one of his best seasons. He was now wearing a Phillies uniform and was a spark plug to this exciting National League Champion team. He led the league in walks, hits and runs, and at-bats and was 2nd in MVP voting. He hit 4 home runs in that '93 World Series. We loved him here in the Quaker City.
But Nails was also the knucklehead who was driving drunk on a country road out my way when he crashed and injured himself and team catcher Darren Daulton. He was the ugly American who refused to remove his ball cap in an elegant restaurant in Paris, berated the Manager who asked him to take off the hat, and proceeded to order $1500.00 bottles of wine and swill them like Yoo-Hoo.
This week Lenny is wearing an orange jump-suit and is in State Custody in California. His post baseball behaviour and business dealings have been reprehensible to say the least. His troubles are not over either as he still faces Federal charges regarding his Bankruptcy and selling or disposing of assets after filing. He tanked businesses and lost investor money and defrauded many. Life outside the ballpark was not so easy huh?
It was sad to see the picture of Lenny having the handcuffs slipped on his wrist.It is sad to see Nails in a state issue orange suit. I would rather picture him in dirty Phillie's pinstripes with a big wad o' chew pawing the dirt in the batter's box.
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