Leonard Kyle Dykstra (/ˈdaɪkstrə/; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985 to 1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989 to 1996).\n', '

The Mets signed Dykstra as a 13th round draft pick in 1981. A star in the minors, in 1983 he led the Carolina League in at-bats, runs, hits, triples, batting average and stolen bases. That season, he hit .358 with 8 HR, 81 RBI, 105 stolen bases (a league record for 17 years), 107 walks and only 35 strikeouts. He was consequently named the Carolina League\'s MVP, and soon emerged as one of the Mets\' prized prospects. While playing in Double-A in 1984 he befriended fellow outfielder and teammate Billy Beane, who later said that Dykstra was "perfectly designed, emotionally" to play baseball and that he had "no concept of failure." According to Beane, his first comments on seeing Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton warming up were, "Shit, I\'ll stick him."\n', '

In 1985 Dykstra, deemed ready for the major leagues, was promoted to the Mets when the team\'s starting center fielder, Mookie Wilson, was placed on the disabled list. The rookie\'s play and energy was a big boost to a Mets team that surged to a 98-win season and narrowly missed out on the NL East crown. The following season, Dykstra was intended to be platooned in center field with Wilson, but took over the position as outright starter and leadoff hitter when Wilson suffered a severe eye injury during spring training. Later that season, the Mets released left fielder George Foster and moved Wilson to left. Mets fans soon nicknamed Dykstra "Nails" for his hard-nosed personality and fearless play. In 1986, he even posed shirtless for a "beefcake" poster under the "Nails" nickname. Dykstra and #2 hitter Wally Backman were termed "the Wild Boys" for their scrappy play as spark plugs for the star-studded Met lineup.\n', '

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