Show Rundown: April 3, 2019
Andy Cohen and Chris Wilding Give Howard the Play-by-Play of Their Recent Date
Lenny Dykstra Calls Into the Stern Show to Deny Allegations of Using Racial Slurs on the Ball Field
Lenny Dykstra Calls Into the Stern Show to Deny Allegations of Using Racial Slurs on the Ball Field
“You don’t yell at the pitcher before you’re getting ready to hit,” the retired pro tells Howard
Former baseball great Lenny Dykstra called into the Stern Show Wednesday morning to defend himself against accusations of racism made by his former New York Mets teammate Ron Darling.
According to Darling’s new tell-all “108 Stitches,” Lenny shouted profanities and racial slurs from the on-deck circle at Boston Red Sox pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd just before Game 3 of the 1986 World Series.
But the retired all-pro told Howard nothing like that ever happened, “not even close.”
“Ron Darling is lying with 100 percent certainty … He went way over the line here,” Dykstra said on the air.
Lenny told Howard he’s never said anything negative about Boyd and went on to explain heckling the other team was the furthest thing from his mind before the big game in question. “When you’re in the on-deck circle leading off … a World Series game, you’re concentrating, man,” Dykstra said. “You’re not screaming whatever the hell [Darling] says.”
“You don’t yell at the pitcher before you’re getting ready to hit,” Dykstra later added.
His personal reputation aside, Lenny said he was also disappointed Darling’s allegations might unfairly detract from what the World Series-winning 1986 Mets accomplished as a team. “What [Darling] said is like crazy,” Dykstra told Howard. “I don’t even know why he said it.”