Much like a hearsay statement during a trial, I am not offering this utterance for the truth of the matter asserted therein, but rather, to simply note that it was a thing that was said. And, for that matter, to ask whether or not we should be surprised.
The statement: Lenny Dykstra’s claim on Colin Cowherd’s show today that he hired private investigators to follow umpires around back in the 80s and 90s and then blackmailed the umpires with the information he obtained in order to get favorable ball and strike calls:“Their blood’s just as red as ours. Some of them like women, some of them like men, some of them gamble...” As a result, the ex-ballplayer said, umpires sometimes called balls instead of strikes. “Fear does a lot to a man,” he said.
“You don’t think it was a coincidence that I lead the league in walks the two years, was it?,” he asked.
No, it was because you had a good batting eye, Lenny. See, despite all of the awful, criminal and/or sleazy things you have done, some of us still remember you as a dang good ballplayer. It’s sad that that’s not what most people think of now when they think of you, but I suppose you brought it in yourself.
In other news, Dykstra’s claim is pretty laughable. I give it a 99% chance of being totally phony and only reserve that 1% because of the impossibility of actually knowing what’s in the mind of another person for absolute certain. I also wonder why, if Colin Cowherd works for MLB rightsholder Fox, he can’t get a better quality of baseball guest for his show.
Here’s the video: