Today in Phillies History: the Lenny Dykstra Trade

Thirty-two years ago, Lenny Dykstra was a baseball player. A confident, wild outfielder who would run into walls with reckless abandon and earned the nickname “Nails,” for being tough as.

On this day in 1989, Dykstra became a Phillie. The Mets traded him, reliever Roger McDowell, and minor league pitcher Tom Edens to the Phillies in exchange for infielder Juan Samuel. Dykstra even commemorated the trade on Twitter today:

Despite Dykstra struggling in that first season with the Phillies, the trade worked out well for Philadelphia, and he became popular with fans. In 1990, the tobacco-chewing outfielder hit .325/.418/.441 with a .859 OPS in his first full season with the club. He finished the year with 35 doubles, 9 homers, and 60 RBI (second-most of his career) in 149 games. He led the NL in hits (192) and OBP (.418), the first time in his career he’d ever led in anything. 1990 was also Dykstra’s first of three All-Star seasons, all as a Phillie.

Three years later, he’d help the Phillies to their first division title and pennant in a decade. In 1993, Dykstra led the NL in at-bats (637), hits (194), and walks (129). He led all of MLB in plate appearances (773) and runs scored (143). He hit .305, stole 37 bases, and would have been the MVP, if not for a young Barry Bonds.

Dykstra was an All-Star again in 1994 and 1995, but was hampered by injuries. In May 1996, he left a game and never played in the majors again.

Dykstra’s life after baseball has been tumultuous. He admitted to using steroids during his career. The attributes that made him such a fiery competitor in the game didn’t translate well in the real world. He’s gone from ballgames to bankruptcy, divorce, and jail time, to name a few of his struggles. Dykstra now spends his days spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on Twitter, tagging fellow conservative former ballplayers Curt Schilling and Aubrey Huff in tweets, and bragging about not getting arrested.

But Dykstra was wild during his playing days, too. He was a steroid-using ballplayer who gambled and drove drunk with teammates. He suffered numerous injuries, some by accident and some from wild play. He admitted to paying investigators to spy on MLB umpires and used the dirt they dug up to get him a better strike zone, which helped him lead the league in walks (129) in 1993. It makes sense; he never walked more than 89 times in any other season.

"“He went a million miles an hour, whatever the venue.” – SABR bio"

In the pantheon of over 20,000 MLB athletes throughout the game’s history, Dykstra is certainly one of the most colorful characters. Ron Darling once said, “He was unlike anyone I’d ever met.”

But on this day in 1989, he just was a young star joining the Phillies.