National Pastime Radio: Lenny Dykstra on the Lopate show

When I saw this segment pop up in my iTunes podcast list, I was surprised. Surprised that Leonard Lopate would want Lenny Dykstra on as a guest, and surprised that Dykstra would appear.

I do not know him at all other than the profiles I’ve read about him but my impression is that he’s not terribly bright; almost to the point where I wondered if he could spell NPR. But when you’re trying to sell your product, you do what you must. (BTW, as of this writing, it ranks #23 on Amazon for all books.)

Up front, Lopate subtly reminded Dykstra to curtail the blue language he uses so liberally in his speech and writing. And I could be wrong, but it did seem like many of the questions were supplied by the publicist. I wonder how much Lopate — who has had a good number of Mets from that 1986 championship team as guests, including Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Doc Gooden, Gary Carter, and Mookie Wilson — enjoyed this one. It’s not like he had to pull teeth; Dykstra was pretty free with his end of the conversation, including an attack on his former manager, Davey Johnson, accusing him of being drunk often. Sour grapes because he wasn’t being played full time?

On the other hand, Dykstra was pretty open about the reason he used steroids: he was a relatively small guy who wanted to pay every day but didn’t fully appreciate the toll it was taking on his body. Because God forbid he should have to give up baseball and take a job that pays $60,000.
I still don’t know if I want to read Dykstra’s new book, House of Nails: A Memoir of Life on the Edge. Getting a bit tired of players whining about the circumstances that have befallen them, especially since it’s almost always on account of their own doing. But after hearing him on the Lopate Show, I am a bit curious. Especially how they got Stephen King to give it such a glowing blurb.