Lenny Dykstra sounds off on former manager, 1988 Dodgers

The loquacious Lenny Dykstra still has sore wounds from the New York Mets loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 National League Championship series.

Former All-Star Lenny Dysktra, who has battled his share of legal troubles since retiring from baseball, sounded off on the 1988 Dodgers and his former manager Davey Johnson in a Twitter thread on Sunday night.

The former Met, who was given the nickname Nails for his hard style of play, is still sour over Davey Johnson’s decision to let Dwight Gooden pitch the 9th inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.

The Mets entered the inning with a 4-2 lead, looking to put a stranglehold on the series and take a 3-1 games lead. After allowing two runs in the first inning, Gooden had pitched 7 straight scoreless frames.

The Mets had reliever Randy Myers ready in the bullpen, but Gooden returned to the hill, Mike Scioscia hit an improbable two-run home run, the Dodgers eventually won the game in the 12th, and the rest is history.

Instead of a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Dodgers had evened the series, with Game 5 scheduled only hours later the following afternoon. All of the momentum, if there is any in baseball, had shifted to Los Angeles after Gooden failed to record the final three outs in the 9th. The Dodgers went on to win Game 5 after taking an early 6-0 lead.

The 1988 Mets were looking to win the franchise’s second championship in three years after winning in miraculous fashion two years earlier. The Dodgers entered the series heavy underdogs, having lost ten of eleven meetings with the Mets during the season.

Of course, the Dodgers ended up winning the series in seven games, advancing to the World Series, again as underdogs, before winning a championship they are still chasing since.

I suppose Dykstra has reason to be upset.