John Lee Hancock to Direct Film on New York Mets Player Lenny Dykstra

The New York Mets were my team back when I still cared about baseball, and outside of Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson, Lenny Dykstra was my favorite player. The rough 'n tumble shortstop, nicknamed "Nails", was the team's leadoff hitter during the championship 1986 season, and it was a sad day when he was traded to the Phillies a few years later. His post-baseball career has been racked with scandal and run-ins with the law, and The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock may be bringing that story to the screen.

Hancock will reteam with The Blind Side producer Gil Netter for an untitled biopic on Dykstra. And it doesn't seem as if it will be an adaptation of Dykstra's book, Nails: The Inside Story of an Amazin' Season, but instead could be a look at what happened to him after he retired from baseball in 1996. Dykstra opened up a number of businesses and entered into many ventures, including a car wash and a jet charter company, leading to multiple investigations into his financial empire. He declared bankruptcy in 2009 and was living out of his car at one point, also selling off his World Series ring. In 2012 he pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, and concealment of assets. 

Dykstra said he wants Matt Damon or Mark Wahlberg to portray him in the film, which are pretty good suggestions actually. Hancock is coming off Disney's Saving Mr. Banks, and this marks a return to baseball movies for him as he directed Dennis Quaid in 2002's The Rookie. [Variety]