Lenny Dykstra Coming to Madison to Talk about New Memoir
Lenny Dykstra, the author of House of Nails: A Memoir of Life on the Edge, will visit R. J. Julia Booksellers on Thursday, June 30 at 7 p.m. for a book signing at the store, located at 768 Boston Post Road, Madison.
Dykstra is a former All Star centerfielder, world champion, multimillionaire entrepreneur, and imprisoned felon. In his book he writes about his outrageous rise and spectacular fall—a tale that The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart once declared was “the greatest story that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”
Nicknamed “Nails” for his hustle and grit, Dykstra approached the game of baseball—and life—with mythic intensity. During his decade in the majors, a legendary member of the 1980s Mets and ‘90s Phillies, he was named to three All-Star teams and played in two of the most memorable World Series of modern the era (1986 and 1993). Known for his clutch hits, high on-base percentage, and aggressive defense, Dykstra was later identified by his former minor league roommate Billy Beane as a prototypical Moneyball player in Michael Lewis’s bestseller. Tobacco-stained, steroid-powered, and booze-and-drug-fueled, “Nails” also defined a notorious era of excess in baseball.
Then came a second act: After retiring, Dykstra threw his energies into several lucrative businesses, was touted as “one of the great ones” by Jim Cramer, called “baseball’s most improbable post-career success story” by the New Yorker, and purchased a $17.5 million mansion. But when the real estate bubble burst in 2008, Lenny lost everything, eventually serving 2 ½ harrowing years in prison for bankruptcy fraud.
The revelations in the book include:
• Wild stories: drinking, drugs, groupies, the works. From Dykstra’s own drug use to his unconventional friendship with Charlie Sheen, this book breaks news on many of the most fascinating celebrities of the ‘80s and ‘90s. It also charts a life of ambition and excess that rivals any rock memoir.
• Dykstra was known for pushing the envelope, and was an infamous abuser of steroids, “greenies” (amphetamines), and prescription painkillers during his career. But who knew about this use and looked the other way?
• Dykstra details how he hired private investigators to tail umpires so he could blackmail them into preferential treatment.
• In Michael Lewis’s blockbuster Moneyball, Billy Bean identified Lenny as a “perfectly designed” ball player. Learn what Dystra thinks were the secrets to his success and how he anticipated a league that now values on-base percentage and defense.
• His controversial detox in Israel.
• After his playing days were over, Dykstra made a killing on a carwash business and in the stock market. He started a magazine for pro athletes called the Players Club. At one point he was worth more than $50 million, flew around the world in a private jet, and purchased a palatial estate formerly owned by Wayne Gretzky. He lived the life of a king, even catching the eye of a princess; he takes readers into the presidential suite and along for the party.
• Following the housing collapse and global financial meltdown, Dykstra was arrested. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to felony charges of bankruptcy fraud, concealment of assets, and money laundering. House of Nails gives an inside account of his fall.
• Dykstra writes about jail and his claims of brutal abuse at the hands of sheriff’s deputies. He has filed suit against Los Angeles County, seeking $15 million in damages.
• What lessons, if any, has he learned, after he has had time to think and reflect?
Follow Lenny on Twitter: @LennyDykstra.
His book has received some positive reviews. Author Stephen King says it’s “Tough, straight, upsetting, and strangely beautiful. One of the best sports auto-biographices I’ve ever read. It comes from the heart.”
“As far as sports autobiographies go, what can I say? Nails nailed it,” says actor Jack Nicholson.
Tickets to the event at R.J. Julia are $30 and include admission the book signing and one copy of House of Nails.
Editor's Note: This story was changed to reflect the correct date of the event.