I've read things about Lenny Dykstra's career as an investor and market guru in the past, but I did like this article at Fortune, via MetsBlog.
When I mentioned to one of his former teammates that Nails was a stock guru, he laughed and said, "Would you give Lenny your money to invest?" But the Dude may have the last laugh. He claims his total net worth is close to $50 million from his businesses and investments combined.Oddly enough, the article says investing is like hitting:
His trading philosophy is not that different from how he hit Hall of Famer Steve Carlton. "The game, whether it's baseball or stocks, is about getting into a predictable situation, a 2-0 count, when the odds are in your favor. At 2-0, the guy's gonna throw a fastball into my love zone, where I can turn and burn. I got one rule in stocks. When I make a $1,000 gain, I sell. GTC, dude. Good-till-cancel order. Buy it at $10, sell it at $11."That's not what I remember about Dykstra hitting Carlton. From Moneyball, by Michael Lewis:
“Billy [Beane] remembers sitting with Lenny in a Mets dugout watching the opposing pitcher warm up. ‘Lenny says, “So who’s that big dumb ass out there on the hill?” And I say, “Lenny, you’re kidding me, right? That’s Steve Carlton. He’s maybe the greatest left-hander in the history of the game.” Lenny says, “Oh, yeah! I knew that!” He sits there for a minute and says, “So, what’s he got?” And I say, “Lenny, come on. Steve Carlton. He’s got heat and also maybe the nastiest slider ever.” And Lenny sits there for a while longer as if he’s taking that in. Finally he just says, “Shit, I’ll stick him.” I’m sitting there thinking, that’s a magazine cover out there on the hill and all Lenny can think is that he’ll stick him.’”Sorry, just quibbling. I really liked Lenny when he was on the Mets in their World Champion year, 1986. I wish him well.
UPDATE (3/14/08): Over the past week, a lot of people have found this post after Dykstra's appearance on HBO. If that includes you, you really should read this excellent piece about him.
UPDATE (11/11/08): Another longish piece about Lenny and his investments, via MetsBlog.
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