Lenny Dykstra led the league in walks in 1993. As it turns out, that may not have been all because of his keen eye for the strike zone.
The former MLB star revealed that he spent $500,000 to hire private investigators to spy on umpires in order to expose their secrets. He then used those shocking revelations to blackmail umpires into giving him favorable calls during the games.
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"Their blood's just as red as ours," Dykstra said on 'The Heard' with Colin Cowherd. "Some of them like women, some of them like men, some of them gamble ... some of them do whatever."
Dykstra, who played for the Mets and Phillies in his career, said that his half-million dollar strategy went swimmingly and some of the umpires would shrink the strike zone to accommodate him.
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"It wasn't a coincidence that I led the league in walks the next few years, was it?" Dykstra asked.
The three-time All-Star finished his career with 640 walks, 129 of which came in 1993, when he paced the MLB in that category. Dykstra has a sordid past, which includes spending 6 1/2 months in prison for grand theft auto and filing a false financial statement,
Dykstra said "fear does a lot to a man" and he would threaten umpires over their sexuality and gambling. In turn, the strike zone would shrink. He also claimed he'd ask umpires if they "covered the spread" the night before and their attitudes toward the calls would change.
The former World Series champion and 1993 Silver Slugger said Cowherd was the first person he told about this controversy, but he also put it in his book. The former centerfielder claimed he was doing what he needed to do in order to win and support his family.
Dykstra did win it all in 1986 with the Mets, who visit the Royals for Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday night in search of their first championship since that season, when the Amazin's battled out of 2-0 and 3-2 series deficits.
Perhaps the '86 Fall Classic turned because Dykstra found out some of the umpires had money on the game.
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