Lenny Dykstra Files for Bankruptcy
Former baseball pro faces divorce, foreclosure and litany of lawsuits
By XANA O'NEILL
Updated 12:18 PM EST, Wed, Jul 8, 2009
Baseball hero Lenny Dykstra is out -- of money.
Facing divorce, foreclosure and a landslide of lawsuits, the former Met and Phillie great filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in California, his attorney said.
Dykstra, 46, has been dogged by money woes for months and now faces more than 20 lawsuits from creditors who claim he balked on paying his bills -- most linked to his cash-strapped magazine, The Players Club.
The magazine went through four printers, three editors and lost a number of other vendors since it launched last year.
His brother, a jet rental company, a printing business, an ex-attorney and several employees are among those who have hammered "Nails" with lawsuits. The baseball great's $18 million California mansion also is in foreclosure, the New York Daily News reported.
Dykstra, who owned a car wash chain and touted himself as an investment guru, also struck out in love. His wife Terri filed for divorce in April and a source told the New York Post in April that finances played a role in the split.
But the embattled businessman bragged about his bling with the kind of bravado that made him both reviled and revered on the field in his heyday outside a Manhattan court last year when he cut a deal with a firm that claimed he bilked them out of $100,000.
"See that purple label, bro?" he said gesturing to the lining of his gray pinstripe suit outside the courtroom. "That's seven large."
The World Series champ sneered when asked about claims he owned a private jet company $7,000.
"That's my f---in' ashtray money, bro" he said. "I don't even know if I flew on their plane."
Dykstra's attorney said the lawsuits were from "parties who have attempted to steal his property, breached material agreements with him or otherwise acted in bad faith."
"In a move that will shield his property from a host of meritless claims, Mr. Lenny Dykstra filed a petition for Chapter 11 protection," attorney Walter Hackett said in a statement.
"This action will provide Mr. Dykstra time to reorganize his estate (and) successfully challenge the multitude of meritless claims that have been made against him," he said.
First Published: Jul 8, 2009 10:38 AM EST
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