Former Major League Baseball star Lenny Dykstra is set to be released from prison on Sunday, just 15 months into his three-year prison sentence.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported the news, quotes a Dykstra biographer as saying he is “surprised” that the ballplayer was released so soon, since he had “blatantly disobeyed the court.”
Dykstra was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2012 for three counts of grand theft auto and one count of filing a false financial report. Dykstra had pleaded no contest to the charges and attended a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
Dykstra was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the 1981 MLB Draft. He had a successful stint in the minor leagues before moving up to the Mets roster in 1985 to replace the team’s injured center fielder. He won the World Series with the team in 1986.
In 1989 Dykstra was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He led the team to a National League pennant win in 1993.
After retiring in 1996, Dykstra turned to business, running car wash companies, serving as president of other private companies, and managing a stock portfolio. His business ventures began failing in the mid 2000s, and he suctioned off his 1986 World Series ring in 2009.
Dykstra’s legal troubles began in 2011, when he was convicted of bankruptcy fraud and sentenced to house arrest. The MLB star had hidden or destroyed hundred of thousands of dollars worth of assets to be used in his 2009 bankruptcy filing.
(via the Philadelphia Inquirer)
(Image courtesy BaseballBacks under Creative Commons license)