Whatever Happened To…Lenny Dykstra?

In the mid eighties “Nails” fascinated baseball fans almost as much as the average Pilipino manicurist because of Lenny “Nails” Dykstra, who earned his nickname thanks to his hardnosed play. Dykstra made his big league debut in 1985 with the New York Mets and cemented his status as a fan favorite the following year when, as the lead-off hitter and centerfielder for the World Champions, supplied many on-field heroics including a walk-off home run in game three of the NLCS against the Houston Astros. He was so popular, in fact, that he wasn’t even run out of town after posing for an exceedingly embarrassing beefcake style poster that featured him leering at the camera, shirtless, under the caption: “Nails”.There were more good times to be had for Dykstra in New York, including helping the Mets reach the NLCS in 1988, but some say his wild antics off the field made the team sour on him. Whatever the reason may be, Lenny was shipped off to Philadelphia (along with Roger McDowell) in exchange for Juan Samuels during the 1989 season.

The best years of ol’ “Nails” career were in Philadelphia, perhaps because he was allegedly doing all he could to earn the new nickname of “Needles,” but more on that later. Dykstra made the All-Star team three times and took his team to the 1993 World Series, but just as in New York, Lenny wasn’t exactly a choir boy off the field. In 1991, following John Kruk’s bachelor party at a Christian Science Reading Room, a drunk Dykstra ran his car into a tree breaking his collar bone. Teammate Darren Daulton was also hurt in the crash, but escaped serious injury thanks to his chest protector and face mask. Later that year “Nails” broke his collar bone again when he ran into an outfield wall. It is unclear if he was drunk at the time as well.

Injuries mounted for Dykstra, and he played his last regular season game in the 1996 season. After an ill-fated comeback attempt at the Phillies’ Spring Training camp in 1998, the final hammer came down on “Nails,” and he retired from the game with a career batting average of .285.

So what the heck happened to him?

The post retirement career prospects for Dykstra may have seemed dubious to those used to reading about his off-field screw-ups during his playing days, but surprisingly “Nails” began preparing for the future as early as 1993 when he opened a car wash in Southern California.

His new business featured top of the line equipment as well as employees who dressed in baseball uniforms (which must have puzzled those customers not familiar with the proprietor’s former career). It was so successful that he opened a second car wash in 1998.

Unfortunately, Dykstra’s propensity for getting into trouble caught up with him once again in 1999 when he was arrested on charges of sexual battery for allegedly fondling a 17-year-old girl who worked at his car wash. It is unclear if he whispered to her the pledge he gives his car wash customers, which is that his “highest priority is your complete satisfaction.” In all fairness to Lenny, the charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence and the suggestion that the girl may have made previous unsubstantiated charges.

It was onward and upward for Lenny who, fresh off the success of opening a third car wash, established a chain of successful Dykstra Quick Lube centers. Lenny then set his sights on the stock market, because if you can wash a car and change its oil you certainly can succeed on Wall Street as well, right? Um, er, right? Well, believe it or not it wasn’t long before Lenny inexplicably became a somewhat renowned expert of stocks with a very large portfolio. His portfolio grew so large, in fact, that he was able to buy Wayne Gretzky’s home for a mere 17 million dollars. He also appeared on CNBC and the Fox News Channel to discuss the stock market, and wrote a column for the financial site www.street.com.

As is the case with Dykstra, however, he often – to paraphrase Paula Abdul – takes two steps forward and then two steps back. His success was countered by a lawsuit filed in 2005 by former business partner Lindsay Jones who alleged that Dykstra used steroids and told her to place bets on Phillies games when he was on the team. Dykstra denied the allegations, but nonetheless was mentioned 28 times in the infamous Mitchell Report in 2008. Oh yeah, and he was sued for more than $111,000 in unpaid fees to an accounting firm that same year.

Dykstra is still beloved by Mets fans though, as evidenced by the large ovation he received at the twentieth anniversary reunion for the 1986 team at Shea Stadium, and his scrappy style of play still works on the field, as proven by his eighteen year old son, “Cutter” Dykstra, who excels at Westlake High School and may have a future in professional baseball just like his old man.

So here’s to you, Lenny “Nails” Dykstra…a man who, whether wearing cuffs or cuff links, is never, ever boring.