General Stats and Ranks
Some Interesting Stats and Facts
- One of 2 players in the history of baseball to have at least 140 runs, 35 steals and a .420 OBP while striking out less than 65 times in a season. Dykstra in ‘93 and Ty Cobb in ‘11 and ‘15.
- Most walks (129) by a Phillies player ever
- Most runs scored by a Phillies player since Chuck Klein in 1932
- Had a .559 OBP after a 2-1 count
- Came in 2nd in the MVP voting behind Barry Bonds. Got 4 of 28 first place votes.
- Won the Silver Slugger Award for the OF
- In 12 postseason games: .313 BA, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 4 SB, .450 OBP, .729 SLG, game winning HR in 10th in Game 5 of NLCS
Why He’s Here
Probably the best season by a “true” lead-off hitter in Phillies history. Dykstra was the catalyst for the 1993 squad that won the NL Pennant. While many remember him for his grit and toughness, this was truly a remarkable statistical season. In a lead-off man, you are usually looking for good on-base percentage, a decent average, some steals, and a bunch of runs. Very few have ever done it as well as Dykstra did in ‘93. He hit over .300 and led the league in walks, resulting in a .420 OBP and 143 runs, 14 more than league MVP Barry Bonds, and 30 more than the 3rd place finisher, Ron Gant. The only other lead-off hitters in MLB history to have a .420 OBP, with 140 runs and 35 steals are HOFer Kiki Cuyler and not-so HOFer Chuck Knoblauch. As good as Rickey Henderson was, he was never able to do it.
He didn’t make the all-star team this year, but this season gained him the notoriety to be selected the next 2 seasons. He remains, along with John Kruk, the face of the ‘93 squad of “throwbacks” that shocked everyone by going from last to first and was only a couple bounces away from winning the Phillies 2nd World Championship.
Previous ‘Top-20 Seasons’ Entries
Five pitchers that just missed (and criteria for rankings)
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This season is phenomenal, so I apologize for the way I am about to begin this discussion. In my mind, this season is the result of Lenny’s juicing.
Look, he was a solid player for the Mets before we got him, along with Roger McDowell for Juan Samuel (Another great deal for us. I love it when we fleece the Mets.). However, he never approached these numbers.
We got him about 1/3 of the way through the 1989 season and he didn’t tear it up for us during the remainder of that season. He came into the 1990 season visibly larger, after adding 30 lbs. of muscle to his frame in a mere 3 months, and proceeded to have what was by far the best season of his career to that point. Coincidence? Then he suffered through a couple seasons of injuries (The car acciddent after Kruk’s bachelor party tops the list). Finally, completely healthy, and still completely jacked, he puts up the eye-popping 1993 season. After that, his body begins to break down. He endures more injuries. His production declines. End of career.
As much as I enjoyed watching him that season—–and the entire 1993 team’s run to the world series—–I knew then how he was able to amass those numbers and it will always sour my view of his accomplishment.
hard to argue with that bski – and I think many of those were probably juicing (Inky!), but I included it because it wasn’t a typical “power” steroids season, because some of his stats (team record for walks) had little to do with steroids, because it was the the best true lead-off season in Phils history, and it was by far the best season on that ‘93 squad.
I also didn’t mention the front page espn.com story about what sleezebag he is now.
What a coincedence Pete. This article comes out about Dykstra and he makes the list all in the same day. My favorite line from the article had to be “His ground rules are explicit: no discussion of “drugs or p—-,” the latter a reference to the female anatomy.” Obviously Lenny isn’t going to sit here and argue that he wasn’t juiced up, and his brother even admitted in the Mitchell Report that he supplied Lenny with the stuff. Although skinny Lenny couldn’t have produced the same numbers that the real Lenny did, but that doesnt’ matter one way or the other. He did what he did on and off the field and in comparison to all other players in Phils history, I think his name certainly belongs on this list. If you haven’t read the article, its a bit long, but really shows how crazy Dykstra is these days. Moral of the story is lay off the juice, it will make you friggin nuts.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4084962
Don’t get me wrong, Pete. I’m not upset that you included this season in your top 20. You are right to point out that the walks have nothing to do with the steroids. You are also right to point out that he wasn’t the only one on the 1993 team who availed themselves of chemical assistance. He also wasn’t the only player in the majors using them either, so it’s not like he was the only guy with an unfair advantage.
I’m not saying that this season should be disregarded. It is what it is. It is part of the official record of MLB and should be recognized, just as the phenomenal seasons and/or careers that Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod, Palmiero, McGwire and the rest put in the books are.
It’s just that, speaking for myself, knowing that steroids assisted him in having the greatest season of his career takes a lot of the luster away from his accomplishment.
Thanks for the link, J Dubbz. Very sad story because he is so lost within his self-centered, narcissistic, fantasy existence that he can’t see how severely distorted his views really are. The only one he’s really getting over on is himself. If he’s lucky, he’ll be involuntarily committed so that he’s protected against himself. If not, he’ll either end up destitute and homeless, drinking Thunderbird out of a paper bag, or dead in an alley somewhere.
Count me in as a “Yeah, but” fan of the ‘93 Phillies. It was a magical year but clearly fueled by steroids.
I’ll grant Dykstra this: He was a gamer. Even though he cheated he seemed to really come through in the clutch that year. And again, as Pete pointed out, his walks and OBP in ‘93 made him the prototype leadoff hitter.
Now for the “Yeah, but.” If you look at clips of the 1986 Mets, you’ll see that Dykstra had the same build as Larry Bowa had during his playing days. Can you imagine Bowa jacked up on ‘roids and ripping 19 homers in one season? That’s just not right. (Yes, I know the ‘80 Phillies had their own “yeah, buts” — Lonnie “Skates” Smith bum-rushing the Phanatic while zonked on coke, the amphetamines scandal, etc)
I’m not naive. I don’t think the game will ever be “clean” in the purest sense of the word. Who knows, maybe somewhere down the line it could be revealed that some players on last year’s world champions were on HGH. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think MLB tests players for HGH yet, or if they really plan to.
Damn, I feel so old because I’m one those people who can remember the days when the shortstop weighed 155 pounds (Bowa) and the second baseman was 160 (Manny Trill0). We’re never going to see that again. Except maybe in the Little League World Series.
I love this article idea. Can’t wait to read more.
I loved Bowa as a player. He is, to me, he true player. Small ball all the way. How many times did he bunt himself on, steal second, move to third on a ground out and score on a SF by Michael Jack? He battede second for many years, before dropping to 8, and I remember the days of Dave Cash leading off and then Bowa. Those were the days. Since when did SS become a hitting posision and not a fielder’s spot, anyway?