centerfield maz

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:  O n May 3rd, 1985,  Dykstra debuted with the Mets in a 9-5 win at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He batted leadoff & s...