Nails Goes to Wall Street
October 27, 2009 10:54 AM   Subscribe

Lenny Dykstra was lauded for his heroics with the Mets and Philles. After his career, Dykstra became well-known as a post-career athlete success story. Then the truth started coming out...

Dykstra's post career exploits included making stock picks and starting a high end magazine targeted towards athletes.

Then, in April of this year, it all came crashing down. In separate articles from GQ and ESPN, Dykstra's financial empire was revealed to be a house of cards.

Dykstra subsequently filed bankruptcy in July. For a copy of Lenny's petition, you can go here (Warning: This link is a PDF). Lenny only sees these events as a minor speedbump, and promises to be back on top in no time.
posted by reenum (22 comments total)
 
I remember a daily show segment about this guy. Hard to feel bad for him, or the people dumb enough to invest money with him.
posted by absalom at 11:06 AM on October 27, 2009


We were having dinner one night in Greenwich and we saw him getting out of a Maybach.

That was two summers ago. We speculated right then and there that he had some kind of scam going.
posted by Zambrano at 11:07 AM on October 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


i feel bad for him. the steroids have ruined his mind. his humors are running around unchecked inside of his body. perhaps his blood sedimentation is off!

in a strange mood today. i don't know what the hell is wrong with this guy, but he's an ass.
posted by glaucon at 11:09 AM on October 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


From the ESPN article: CNBC personality Jim "Mad Money" Cramer hypes him as a stock guru.

So you can't say that there weren't warning signs.
posted by Zonker at 11:10 AM on October 27, 2009 [9 favorites]


Dykstra, previously.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 11:12 AM on October 27, 2009


Dykstra's Shortest Path to Bankruptcy Algorithm
(Sorry.)
posted by ghiacursed at 11:13 AM on October 27, 2009 [8 favorites]


Bad investments? Probably came from years working with people who tried to make money owning a baseball franchise.
posted by wendell at 11:14 AM on October 27, 2009


He found the shortest path from wealth to bankruptcy.
posted by deanc at 11:14 AM on October 27, 2009


(Referent of shortest path jokes for non-computer science people.)
posted by callmejay at 11:22 AM on October 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


The daily show's piece on Lenny.
posted by nightwood at 11:31 AM on October 27, 2009


Having someone help other pro athletes out with their financial planning, who understands their perspective and their needs, is a great idea. Problem is, it's not a great idea to leave that to Dykstra, who comes off as what you might expect if Mike Tyson took an especially hard shot to the temple and woke up thinking that he was Warren Buffett.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:35 AM on October 27, 2009


The LA Times blog found a video from Tokyo TV about pawnshops in the U.S., and Dykstra walks in to pawn his 1986 World Series ring. I hate to admit it, but I felt a tiny bit bad for him.
posted by gladly at 11:40 AM on October 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


Heh. Reminds me of a saying in the 70's in Telluride "The shortest way to get a million dollars here? Start with two million dollars..."
posted by dbmcd at 11:54 AM on October 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


I remember watching a game between the Cardinals and the Phillies on TV back in the early 90s with my dad (we're both St. Louis fans). Dykstra had just made some inhuman grab in center field to end the inning. After the commercial break, the camera cut to the dugout, where he was simultaneously cramming a fist-sized wad of chew into his mouth and turbo-smoking a Kool. There was an awkward silence, and then one of the announcers muttered something about smoking being bad for you.

I don't think I've heard my dad laugh that hard since.

Anyway, I always liked Dykstra. As a ballplayer, that is. I'd sooner fold every one of my dollar bills into origami party guests and set them on fire for my Towering Inferno reenactment than give any of them to something called "Nails Investing."
posted by total warfare frown at 12:14 PM on October 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


The philly.com is worth reading for just this name: anaesthesiologist Dr. Festus Dada.
posted by pianomover at 12:32 PM on October 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


The philly.com article is worth reading for just this name: anaesthesiologist Dr. Festus Dada.
posted by pianomover at 12:33 PM on October 27, 2009


NAILS!

Also, what total warfare frown said about feelings re ballplayer/investor.
posted by languagehat at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2009


Man, I remember the glory days of him and Dutch Dalton, getting hammered, wrecking Porsches...those were the days.
posted by fixedgear at 1:27 PM on October 27, 2009


I coulda sworn Nails had been posted before, but yeah, maybe it was just the Daily Show clip...
posted by mrgrimm at 1:49 PM on October 27, 2009


LEAVE LENNY ALOOOOOOOOONE!!!11!!
posted by Doohickie at 10:20 PM on October 27, 2009


Still.. ain't got shit on Madoff.
posted by phaedon at 11:50 PM on October 27, 2009


You Think Your Job Sucks? Try Working for Lenny Dykstra, from April 09.
posted by IvoShandor at 3:25 AM on October 30, 2009


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