Lenny Dykstra
Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), nicknamed "Nails" and "Dude", is a former Major League Baseball center fielder and convicted felon. Dykstra played for the New York Mets from 1985 to 1989 and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989 to 1996.
New York Mets
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 (with 105, a league record for 17 years). That season, he hit .358 with 8 HR, 81 RBI, the above-cited 105 stolen bases, 107 walks but 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."
