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Former Major League Baseball player Dykstra arrested on narcotics charge in Pike County

Former Philadelphia Phillie Lenny Dykstra, seen in a 1998 file photo, has been arrested in Pike County on drug charges.
Pat Sullivan
/
Associated Press file photo
Former Major League Baseball player Lenny Dykstra, seen in a 1998 file photo, has been arrested in Pike County on drug charges.

Former Major League Baseball player Lenny Dykstra was arrested for narcotics possession New Year’s Day in Pike County, according to state police.

Dykstra, 62, now a Scranton resident, was a passenger in a 2015 GMC Sierra and “was found to be in possession of narcotics and narcotic-related equipment/paraphernalia,” the state police said in a news release.

The news release does not name the narcotics and charges are pending.

The arrest happened on Route 507 in Greene Twp.

Troopers pulled over the car for “motor vehicle code violations,” the news release said.

Nicknamed “Nails” because of his hard-nosed style of play, Dykstra played parts of 12 seasons, mostly as a centerfielder, first for the New York Mets then the Philadelphia Phillies.

He hit .285 with 81 home runs, 404 RBI and 285 stolen bases.

He has publicly admitted squandering tens of millions of dollars he earned from baseball and afterward, and has had previous encounters with with law.

In February 2024, he suffered a stroke and moved to Scranton after rehabilitation.

Borys joins WVIA News from The Scranton Times-Tribune, where he served as an investigative reporter and covered a wide range of political stories. His work has been recognized with numerous national and state journalism awards from the Inland Press Association, Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors, Society of Professional Journalists and Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association.

You can email Borys at boryskrawczeniuk@wvia.org