Lenny Dykstra "Nails": A 1986 World Champion Mets Outfielder with a Drama Filled Life (1985 - 1989)

Leonard Kyle Dykstra was born on February 10, 1963, in Santa Ana, California. The five foot eleven left hand hitting outfielder was signed by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the 1981 draft. 

By 1983, Lenny had risen quickly in the Mets system, at A ball he was the Carolina League MVP for the Lynchburg Mets, batting .358 with 105 stolen bases, 8 HRs & 81 RBIs. 

In the Mets minor leagues, he became friend with fellow outfielder Bill Beane who later became the longtime GM of the Oakland A's. 

Quotes- Billy Beane: "Lenny was perfectly designed, emotionally to play baseball and had no concept of failure." 

The next season at AA Jackson he hit .275. In 1985 he was promoted to AAA Tidewater batting .310 with 26 stolen bases in 58 games for the Tides. He was quickly called up to the Mets big league squad.

MLB Debut: On May 3rd, 1985, Dykstra debuted with the Mets in a 9-5 win at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He batted leadoff & started in centerfield. In the 1st inning he struck out in his first at bat. In his second career at bat, he hit a two run HR off Mario Soto helping in the Mets win. He played part time & didn't get into the lineup steadily until July, when Mookie Wilson went down with injury. 

Nails: Dykstra immediately made an impact with his scrappy style of hard nose play. He soon got the nickname of Nails, known for his toughness as well as his nitty gritty style of play. In the outfield Nails dove for balls & on the base paths he would slide headfirst into the bag, something most players were not doing in 1985.

It seemed he always had a dirty uniform & a cheek full of tobacco, which made him look like a real old-time ballplayer. The Shea fans soon fell in love with him & he became one of the most popular figures around Shea Stadium. 

Dykstra was a great leadoff hitter, able to slap the ball all over the field. He also showed power at times, hit a lot of doubles, drew walks and was a great base stealer. 

19 Inning 4th of July Classic: On July 4th in a nineteen-inning game in Atlanta, Dykstra hit a sac fly scoring Howard Johnson in the 18th inning, to put the Mets ahead. The Braves tied it again in the bottom of the inning, but New York won it with a five-run 19th inning.

From July 3rd to July 21st, he would score at least one run in 12 of 16 games with a total of 16 runs in the 16 games. Dykstra had six multi-hit games in the month while stealing seven bases. 

In August & September he cooled off during the pennant race batting .254 but still scored 40 runs & stole 15 bases. The youngster showed a lot of promise for the future.

In his rookie year the Mets were just one game out of first place with four to play. But they finished up second to the rival Cardinals winning 98 games. Dykstra hit .254 with one HR nine doubles three triples 40 runs scored & 19 RBIs. He 15 stolen bases with a .338 on base % & .669 OPS in 83 games played. 

Mets 1986 Championship Season: when Mookie Wilson got injured during Spring Training, Dykstra began the year as the Mets primary centerfielder. He was determined to prove how good he could play. Later when Wilson returned, the would share time in center field in Davey Johnson's platoon system. With Dykstra in the leadoff spot & the pesky Wally Backman batting second, the two became known as “Partners in Grime” & “The Wild Boys”. 

On Opening Day he drew two walks & scored two runs in the Mets 4-2 & Dwight Gooden's win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Multi- Four Hit Game: On April 12th in a 14-inning loss at Philadelphia, Nails had a four-hit game with four singles & a walk driving in two runs, stealing a base & scoring a run in the 9-8 loss. 

He closed out the month driving in runs in three of four games & was batting .327 with stolen eight bases. In May his average dropped to .268 but he still contributed by scoring twelve runs. 

In June Lenny raised his average forty-six points to get back over the .300 mark. 

Multi- Three RBI Game: On June 2nd, Lenny hit an 8th inning bases clearing triple off the Padres Goose Gossage, in an 11-2 win over San Diego at Shea Stadium. 

Multi- Four Hit Game: On June 9th in a loss to the Phillies, Lenny had another four-hit game, hitting a pair of doubles getting over the .300 mark. 

From June 16th to June 30th, Dykstra drove in seven runs & collected three doubles.

In July he had two separate eight game hit steaks. On July 4th he helped Doc Gooden to a 2-1 win over the Astros at Shea Stadium, with a 7th inning tie breaking RBI single. 

From July 6th through July 13th, Lenny had six straight multi-hit games, collecting 16 hits in a six-game span, batting .640 with two HRs, four doubles & six RBIs.

From July 8th through the 19th, Dykstra would drive in at least one run & score at least one run in six straight games totaling 14 runs scored. In the month he hit .357 & drove in 16 runs. On the bases he also stole five more bases.

Multi- Four Hit Game: On July 12th, Lenny had his third four hit game of the year, driving in a run in the 10-1 win in Atlanta.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On July 17th, in a 13-2 blow out at the Astrodome Dykstra hit a two-run single off Nolan Ryan & added an RBI sac fly off Charlie Kerfeld for his second three RBI game of the season.

Multi- Four Hit Game: On August 6th he had his fourth four-hit game of the season, coming in a suspended game, against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The game was called on account of darkness & resumed the next day, with a 7-6 Mets win. At that time Wrigley Field still did not have lights. Lenny collected a 5th inning two run single off former teammate Ed Lynch.  

On August 6th, later in the day in the game originally scheduled Lenny added three more hits in a 12-3 Mets win. 

Multi- Three RBI Game: On August 17th, in the second game of a double header split with the Cards at Shea, Dykstra hit a three run HR off veteran Ray Burris in a 9-4 win. It was his third three RBI game of the year. Lenny would have ten multi-RBI games on the season.

Mets Clinch NL East: On September 17th the Mets beat the Cubs 4-2 at Shea Stadium clinching their first Eastern Divisional title since 1973. In the game Dykstra collected two hits, in the 3rd inning he singled off Dennis Eckersley & scored o Dave Magadan's base hit.

On a star-studded power hitting team, Dykstra was the spark plug that got things going. 

The Wild Boys: Lenny & Wally Backman became known as the Wild Boys. The two-tobacco chewing aggressive "little guys" sitting atop the Mets line up with their gritty style of play. They slid headfirst, dragged bunt base hits, stole bases & always had dirty uniforms. They were the table setters & the fans loved them.

Nails led the team with 31 stolen bases and seven triples (5th in the NL).

He hit .295 (9th best in the NL) with 27 doubles, five HRs & 45 RBIs Lenny struck out 55 times with 58 walks posting a .377 on base % (9th in the NL) & .822 OPS. Dykstra scored 77 runs, second on the club to Keith Hernandez (94) in 147 games played. 

In the outfield he posted a 990 fielding % (4th in the league) making eight assists with two double plays & making just three errors all season. 

Post Season: 1986 NLCS: In the Mets NLCS win over the Houston Astros Dykstra played in all six games & became a Mets legend along the way.

In the 1-0 Game #1 loss Dykstra went 1-3 with a walk against Mike Scott. 

In Game #2 he collected two hits with a 5th inning single off Nolan Ryan, scoring on Keith Hernandez's two run triple. Lenny later doubled in the 8th inning.

Walk Off NLCS HR: Dykstra will forever be remembered for his walk off HR in Game #3 of the NLCS at Shea Stadium. It is certainly one of the most dramatic & exciting moments in Mets history.

Dykstra had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning and struck out against Houston's Bob Knepper. 

In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Mets were trailing 5-4, as Wally Backman led off with a bunt single. He was called safe on controversial slide into first base. Dykstra now came up to face Astros closer Dave Smith. Nails drilled the 0-1 pitch down the right field line & over the fence for the game winning walk off HR.

The Shea crowd went wild in one of the most dramatic Mets post season victories ever. 

Quotes- Lenny Dykstra: "I wasn't thinking about going up there to hit a home run to win the ballgame", he said. "I was just thinking base hit. I saw the pitch real well and hit it real well. Don't get used to this. You're not going to see too many more game-winning home runs from me." 

In the Game #4 loss, Dykstra collected one of the Mets three hits against Houston pitcher Mike
Scott. Overall Dykstra had two of the Mets eight hits against Scott in the two games he pitched.

 In the Mets Game #5 extra inning win at Shea Stadium he went hitless, striking out twice against Nolan Ryan. 

Game Six: In the final Game #6 at Houston, it was Dykstra who led off the top of the 9th inning as a pinch hitter with the Mets down 3-0. He hit a triple off Bob Knepper & scored the first run, on Mookie Wilsons base hit in the Mets comeback to tie the game.

Dykstra then went hitless in his next three at bats. In the top of the 16th inning the Mets scored two runs making it a 6-4 lead. With Wally Backman on second, Dykstra hit an RBI base hit into right field off pitcher Jeff Calhoun, giving them a 7-4 lead. 

But the Astros scored twice in the bottom of the 16th & Dykstra's RBI turned out to be the Mets winning run in the 7-6 victory. 

The Mets clinched their first pennant in 13 years in one of the most exciting NLCS ever played.

Overall, in the NLCS Dykstra hit .304 (7-23) with three extra base hits, three RBIs, three runs scored & a stolen base with a .360 on base % & .925 OPS.

1986 World Series: In the World Series victory against the Boston Red Sox, Dykstra continued to produce. He hit .296 (8-27) with a HR, three RBIs, two walks a .345 on base% & .822 OPS.

In the first two games at Shea Stadium which the Mets lost both, Lenny drew walks in each game but only had one hit going 1-6.

Lead Off World Series HR: In Game #3 at Fenway Park, it was Dykstra's leadoff home run off Oil Can Boyd that brought the Mets to life, after being down two games to none. 

Mets Trivia: The HR made him the third Met in team history to hit a leadoff, Game #3 World
Series HR. Tommie Agee (1969) &Wayne Garrett (1973) With both in World Series Game #3's played at Shea Stadium.
 
Multi-Four Hit World Series Game: In the Game #3-win Dykstra collected four hits. Dykstra collected two singles off Oil Can Boyd & another single off Bob Stanley. In the 7th inning, he scored on Gary Carter's base hit making it a 6-1 Mets win.

In Game #4 at Boston, Dykstra hit another HR, a two-run shot in the 7th inning off Steve Crawford. That put the Mets up 5-0 on their way to a 6-2 Ron Darling win.

In Game #5 at Fenway Park, he went 1-5 with a single off Brust Hurst in the 3rd inning of the Mets 4-2 loss as they went back to New York down three games to two.

In the classic ten inning Game #6 Dykstra went hitless with two strike outs. He stuck out against Lenny Dykstra to end the 9th inning.

In Game #7, he came in as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning after Ray Knight had homered to put the Mets ahead. He singled then advanced to second on a wild pitch & scored the Mets 5th run on Rafael Santana’s base hit. As the Mets won the World Series, Dykstra rode high on top of the world, celebrating the success & enjoying everything that came with it.

After the Championship:  1987 Dykstra appeared as a pinch hitter on Opening Day, going 0-1 in the Mets 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. On April 10th he hit a HR & drove in two runs leading the Mets to a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.

In mid-May he hit HRs, in back-to-back games against the San Francisco Giants. On the same home stand, five games later, he hit a pair of HRs in a May 23rd game against the Dodgers. Overall, in May, he had 24 hits with four HRs, six stolen bases and 11 RBIs.

He kept his average up over .300 through mid June, although he drove in just one run all month . He did score 14 runs that month, including a big day where he scored three times in a June 21st win over the Philadelphia Phillies. In July he hit safely in 13 of 18 games over the first three weeks of that month.

On July 20th he drove in four runs, while hitting a two run HR against Larry McWilliams & the Atlanta Braves, in a 9-2 win at Shea Stadium. Through the summer months of July & August '87, he gathered twenty plus hits each month. On August 16th, he had four hits including his ninth HR, in a wild 23-10 Mets win at Wrigley Field in Chicago. 

In September he hit a grand slam HR in Montreal, against the Expos in a 10-0 Doc Gooden shutout. The next week he had three straight games where he hit two doubles in each game. 

From September 20th until the end of the season he had six multiple hit games, finishing the year strong. That year, the Mets finished in second place, just three games back of the St. Louis Cardinals, posting a 92-70 record. 

For the year, Nails hit ten HRs and was being accused of trying to swing more for the fences, rather than base hits. His power surge included, setting a Mets club mark in doubles (at the time) with 37 (4th most in the league). Overall, he hit .285, with three triples, a .352 on base %, 45 RBIs & 27 stolen bases. 

1988 NL East Champion Season: This season injuries limited Dykstra to 126 games, but he still led all NL centerfielders in fielding (.996%) making just one error all season. 

Multi- Three RBI Opening Day: Lenny started out the season with an Opening day with a three run HR off the Expos Dennis Martinez in the 10-6 Mets win in Montreal. It was Lennys only three RBI game of the season, he had nine other multi- two RBI games.

On April 14th he homered off Dennis Martinez once again, driving the only run of a 1-0 Bob Ojeda win over the Expos. It was Dykstra's third HR of the season in just eight games.

In May, Lenny hit safely in 15 of 18 games with five doubles.

Multi- Fout Hit Game: On May 4th in an 8-0 win over the Astros at Shea Stadium, Lenny had a four-hit game. In the 1st inning he doubled, in the 3rd he singled & scored on Tim Teufel's HR. He collected two more singles in the game.

On May 8th, he collected two hits & stole two bases in a 5-1 win over the Reds at Shea Stadium.

From June 4th thru June 21st, Nails batted .426 hitting safely in 13 of 15 games, with 23 hits & six stolen bases. In the month he collected five multi-three hit games. Overall, in June he hit in 19 of 25 games raising his batting average to .308. Lenny kept his average up over .300 into the start of August. 

From August 9th to August 11th, on a road trip to Wrigley Field, he had three straight multi-RBI games, with HRs in two of the games. 

In the opener he homered off Mike Bielecki with two hits in the Met loss. After dropping the first two games, the Mets entered the 8th inning of the third game down 6-3. In the 8th, Dykstra hit a solo HR off Al Nipper. In the top of the 9th, he singled off Pat Perry driving in Kevin Elster to make it 6-5. Later in the inning he scored on Kevin McReynolds grand slam HR.  On September 8th, he hit another two run HR in a return to Wrigley Field in a 13-6 Mets over the Cubs. 

On September 15th, he collected a two-run double off the Cubs Rick Sutcliffe in a Mets 4-1 win at Shea Stadium. 

Lenny had hit better in the earlier part of the season, as his bat cooled off during the final two months. He led the team with 30 stolen bases, one more than Darryl Strawberry. 

He hit .270 on the season with 8 HRs 19 doubles, three triples, 57 runs scored & 33 RBIs. He struck out 43 times & walked 30 times posting a .321 on base % & .706 OPS in 429 at bats. In centerfield he led the league in fielding (.987%) with four assists in 118 games. 

1988 Post Season- NLCS: In the 1988 NLCS loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dykstra only had one hit in the first four games (1-7). 

In Game #5 at Shea Stadium, he hit a three run HR off Tim Belcher bringing the Mets closer from a 6-0 deficit, although they would lose the game 7-4.

In the Mets Game #6 win at Dodger Stadium, he went 2-5 scoring two runs. Dykstra led off the top of the 1st first inning by reaching on an error by Mickey Hatcher. He advanced to third on a Wally Backman single & scoring on a Kevin McReynolds sac fly.

In the 6th inning, Lenny doubled off Brian Bolton & scored on Keith Hernandez RBI single.

In Game #6, Lenny collected one of the Mets five hits in Orel Hershiser's shutout, shocking the Mets ending their season.

In the final three games of the NLCS, Lenny had five hits, driving in three runs and scoring four runs. Overall, in the NLCS loss, Nails batted .429 with three doubles, four walks, a HR, three RBIs and six runs scored.

After the Divisional Title Season: In 1989 things were slowly changing in New York within the organization. Dykstra started out well in April batting .375 with twelve runs scored as he got toward the end of the month. 

From April 19th to April 30th, he had six multi-hit games in a ten-game span, collecting 15 hits in 34 at bats.

His bat cooled off considerably in the next two months.

On June 14th, he hit his last HR as a New York Met, it came off the Cubs Scott Sanderson in a 2-0 Dwight Gooden/Rick Aguilera shut out at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Traded: On June 18th, 1989, after 56 games he was batting .270, when the Mets made one of the worst trades of that era. The popular Dykstra & relief pitcher Roger McDowell were both traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during a road trip there for second baseman Juan Samuel, who the Mets wanted to play in center field. 

Former Mets GM Joe McIlvaine said, Manager Davey Johnson had been pressuring the front
office to trade Dykstra for years. Keith Hernandez said in his book Pure Baseball that Dykstra was "on the wild and crazy side", which is why the Mets chose to trade him.

Many fans believe this was the start of the Mets downfall after their dominating 1980’s play. Dykstra was initially upset over the trade because he enjoyed playing in New York, but he adapted & soon won over the Philadelphia fans as well. 

Mets Career Stats: Dykstra played five seasons with the Mets in 544 games. He is 6th all time with 493 games in centerfield. He batted .278 with 469 hits 104 doubles 17 triples 30 HRs 153 RBIs & 116 stolen bases (7th on the Mets all-time list). He walked 181 times with a .350 on base % & .763 OPS.

Post Mets Career:  Dykstra would go onto play parts of eight seasons with the Phillies finishing his career there. In 1990 he started the All-Star Game, led the league in hits with 192 and batted .325, finishing fourth in the league. He hit nine HRs with 30 doubles, drove in 60 runs and scored 106 runs (5th in the NL). 

Injuries including an opening day broken hand in 1991 beat him up over the next two seasons, limiting him to 63 & 85 games respectively, but he hit .297 or better both seasons. 

Drama: Dykstra sure had his share of drama during his career as well as after. In March of 1991, he was linked to a gambling probe in Mississippi. 

 Just two months later, he broke his collarbone in a car wreck while driving back from teammate John Kruk's bachelor party. Another Phillie teammate; Darren Daulton was also in the car suffering an eye injury, as well as a broken facial bone.  According to the Police, Dykstra's blood alcohol content was 0.179 at the time of the crash. 

1993 Phillies Pennant Season: In 1993 he had a career year as the Phillies went all the way to the World Series. That year Lenny came in second to Pittsburgh's Barry Bonds in the MVP voting, leading the league in hits (194) runs scored (143) walks (129) & at bats (637). He hit a career high 19 HRs & 44 doubles (2nd in the league), while driving in 66 runs.

1993 Post Season- NLCS: In the NLCS win over the Braves, he hit .280 going 7-25 with two HRs & two RBIs. 

In Game #5, his top of the 10th inning solo HR off the Braves Mark Wohlers was the game winning HR in the 4-3 win in Atlanta. In the final Game #6 he collected a hit with a walk & two runs scored in the 6-3 clincher sending the Phils to the World Series.

1993 World Series: In the Fall Classic loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Lenny hit even better batting .348 (8-23) with 4 HRs 8 RBIs & drawing seven walks.

In the Game#2 Phillies win in Toronto, Lenny collected two hits with a 7th inning HR off Tony Castillo. 

Multi-HR Four RBI World Series Game: In the wild Game#4 Blue Jays 15-14 win in Philadelphia, Lenny hit a pair of two run HRs coming off Al Leiter & Todd Stottlemyre. The two teams collected 32 hits in the game.

Trivia: Dykstra stirred up more trouble when he publicly has blamed relief pitcher; Mitch Williams for losing the Series. Mitch Williams gave up the walk off World Series ending HR to Joe Carter. In 2013 Dykstra & Williams met at a Memorabilia show at a Pennsylvania mall, almost getting into a brawl.

Post Season Stats: In his post season career Dykstra hit .321 with 10 HRs  6 doubles 27 runs scored &19 RBIs. He posted a 1.094 OPS, drew 20 walks & posted a .433 on base % in 32 post season games. 

After The Pennant: Injuries quickly brought a downfall to his career, as he only played in 84 games batting .274 the next season, and two seasons later he was done at the age of 35. 

Career Stats: In his twelve-year career he hit .285 with 1298 hits 281 doubles 43 triples 81 HRs 802 runs scored & 404 RBIs. Lenny stole 285 stolen bases in 1278 games played. He struck out 503 times, walked 640 times posted a .375 on base % & .793 OPS.

Retirement:  Since his retirement, Dykstra has had many ups & downs. At first, he ran a car wash in Corona, California. Then he became a columnist for TheStreet.com & served as president of several of his privately held companies, including car washes, Castrol, "Team Dykstra" Quick Lube Centers; Conoco Phillips, as well as a real estate company & "I Sold It on eBay" in Southern California. 

He soon became known as a sharp business advisor & stock market whiz in the financial world. He then appeared regularly as a guest, on Fox News Channel's The Cost of Freedom business shows. 

Lenny bought Wayne Gretzky's $17 million estate. 

As a player, Lenny was always seen with a wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek. Later he began campaigning against the use of chewing tobacco. 

Quotes- Lenny Dykstra: "Copy my hustle but please, don't copy my tobacco use” 

Post Career Drama's: In 2007 Dykstra was named in the Mitchell Report for steroid use, stating that the Commissioner’s office, had known about his steroid use since 2000. Dykstra chose not to meet with the Mitchell investigators to defend the allegations against him. 

In 2009, after all his financial successes, he claimed bankruptcy after getting into $31 million worth of debt.

Many large & small companies had begun to invest big monies with Dykstra, after he had success in the stock market. His style of living was out of control & he was in way over his head. During the country's recession, many of his investments fell off with the bad stock market trends.

In 2010 a court appointed trustee accused him of lying under oath & asked the court to deny his bankruptcy claims. Also, security officers kept him away from his foreclosed multi-million-dollar properties in Lake Sherwood. It was there he was accused of vandalizing the properties and not maintaining homeowners' insurance.

In 2009 it was reported that his 1986 World Series Ring & trophy were sold off in an auction. 

In December 2010, Dykstra was accused of hiring adult film star Monica Foster as a female escort. He then wrote her a bad $1,000 check which she later posted a copy of on her blog site. Around this same time Dykstra claimed he was the voice of reason in a friendship with Charlie Sheen.

In 2011 he was sentenced to house arrest after a bankruptcy fraud indictment.

On August 25, 2011, he was charged with indecent exposure accusations. The Los Angeles City Attorney, accuses Dykstra of placing ads on Craigslist, requesting a personal assistant for housekeeping services. When the alleged victims arrived, they were informed that the job also required massage services. It was then that Dykstra supposedly would disrobe and expose himself.

In June 2011 he was arrested, charged with 25 misdemeanor and felony counts of grand theft auto, identity theft, & filing false financial statements.

In March of 2012, he was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading no contest to those charges. He was also accused of possession of cocaine, ecstasy & the human growth hormone, Somatropin. He remained in jail because he was unable to post the $500,000 bail. 

In June 2013, he was released & in his first interview after being released said the following: 

Quotes- Lenny Dykstra: “In a crazy way, going to prison when I did, I didn’t want to, trust me, it actually kind of made me realize what’s important,” I’m not recommending anybody go to prison to find your life, but to me, it was rock bottom. The next step from prison is death, if you think about it. There’s nothing worse you can do to a person than lock them up, take away their freedom.”

Honors: Before Game #5 of the 2000 Subway World Series, he was joined by some of his 1986 teammates, to threw out the ceremonial first pitch, at Shea Stadium. 

In 2002, he was elected as part of the Mets' 40th Anniversary All-Amazin' Team.

In 2006, he returned to Shea Stadium for the 20th Anniversary of the 1986 World Championship team. He received a very warm & loud ovation.

In 2008, Lenny was on hand for the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium. 

He also has served as a special Mets Spring Training instructor many times.

In 2016 Dykstra was on hand for the 30th Anniversary of the1986 World Champion Mets at Citi Field. 

More Drama: In 2016 Dykstra released his book "Len Dykstra Life on the Edge, House of Nails". He admitted that he had never even read a book from cover to cover until 2011 when he was in prison.

In the book he claims to have hired private eyes to get dirt on umpires' private lives to use it against then on the field. The book was given a special launching party at a New York City Strip Club Cabaret where Strippers enjoyed a preview of the book. 

Lenny returned later in the year as Santa Claus at a Christmas Party with the dancer ladies.

On a Radio Show he said he is paid to be an escort for older women, some in their eighties. He claims to have had sex with countless women & considers himself a Picasso in the bedroom??

Even More Drama: In 2018 Dykstra was accused of kidnapping an Uber driver & threatening to kill him. He was arrested when drugs were found in his possession as well. 

In January of 2019, his neighbors in his Linden New Jersey home, claimed he was using his house as a boarding home using it as quote " a den of drugs & prostitution". In a strange response he posted now words or excuses but just a link to the Rolling Stones song- Neighbors on social media.

By the summer he moved out, selling the house for $439k. At that point he told his neighbors to go f-@#$ themselves.

Drama with Ron Darling: In former teammate Ron Darling's book "108 Stitches" he accused Dykstra of shouting racial slurs at Red Sox pitcher Oil Can Boyd before Game #3 of the 1986 World Series. 

Dykstra filed a lawsuit &took the case to court where a judge ruled Dykstra's reputation for unsportsmanlike conduct & bigotry is already so tarnished that it cannot be further injured.

In February 2024, Dykstra suffered a stroke in Los Angeles. Former teammates Kevin Mitchell & Darryl Strawberry reported he was recovering well at UCLA Medical Center.

Family: Lenny married his wife Terri in 1985, they have two sons. The couple managed to stay together until 2009 when they divorced.