Lenny Dykstra

Lenny Dykstra played twelve seasons in the major leagues with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies from 1985 to 1996. Dykstra began his professional baseball career in 1981 as a 13th round selection out of Garden Grove High School. Over the next four years he displayed uncanny athleticism and all-around skill in the minor leagues and earned a call-up to the Mets in 1985. During his second season in the league he hit .295 with 8 homeruns and 31 stolen bases, establishing himself as one of the top young center fielders in the game. He’d go on to play the first five years of his career in New York before being traded the Phillies in 1990. During his career he earned three All-Star selections and helped the Mets to a World Series title in 1986. In 1993 he hit .305 with 19 homeruns, 44 doubles, 66 RBI, and a league leading 143 runs scored and 194 hits, earning him a Silver Slugger Award. Dykstra retired in 1996 with a solid .285 career batting average, 281 doubles, 404 RBI, 802 runs scored and 1,298 hits in 1,278 games.