Why this card is awesome: Because, hey look, it's another Expo in the background! And if you thought there was a big difference in Mark McGwire's appearance over the years, compare Nails above to this photo:
A bit thicker all around, eh?
The Phillies' trade for Dykstra was a great one. In addition to getting Lenny, the Phils also got Roger McDowell in exchange for Juan Samuel. Samuel stuck around for many more years but was never the same player, whereas Dykstra and McDowell (less so) did some great things for the Phillies.
Cool stat: Only two guys have ever had a season with 30 stolen bases, 120 walks, and 140 runs scored. Dykstra did it in the Phillies' magical year of 1993, but you probably can't guess who the other one was.
4 comments:
Yep, people (myself included) tend to forget what a good baserunner Bagwell was. I was certain my guess of Rickey was too obvious, but I would have thought he'd have some near misses to that list and he never really came that close. You could drop the runs threshold down to 120 and he still wouldn't qualify.
Let's hear some good Dykstra stories! Like Andy Van Slyke saying that playing centerfield at Shea Stadium was like playing in a toxic waste dump.
I read Dykstra's book about the 1986 season when I was 8 years old. My mom wasn't too pleased when I revealed to her Lenny's secrets to not getting tossed from game (i.e., referring to a call as "horseshit" = okay, calling an ump "horseshit" = tossable offense). ;)
I did a whole series over on Capewood's Collections on 1993 Phillies cards. Dykstra was a wild man in those days, but, when he wasn't hurt, he was a great player. Steroids, who knows? There was no talk of it while he played. He is mentioned in the Mitchell report. I think its the oldest case in the report. You can see my comments about Dykstra here: http://capewood.blogspot.com/2008/02/1993-phillies-world-series-team-duncan.html
My first inclination there was Bonds, but he never scored more than 129 runs (four times) and as his walk rates increased, his stolen bases dropped off.
I may have thought of Bagwell eventually, but it would have taken a long while.
After the 93 season, I became a bit of a Phillies fan. I know their image as a team has changed, but to this day I still see Kruk and Daulton and Lenny and think of hard drinking hard playing blue collar guys.
With the Expos no more, if the Braves can't win the NL East, I'm for the Phillies all the way. Blame my ex-girlfriend, she's a big Phillies fan.
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