Lenny Dykstra

Most people in baseball figure the Ivy League has something to do with the outfield walls in Wrigley Field, but Doug Glanville is giving Philadelphians a bit of an education. It's not that they don't know about Penn, an Ivy League school that is better known for its business school than its baseball team, but the idea of a center fielder from there making the trek across town to the Phillies' lineup is more than novel.

A taste of Cooperstown comes to Ventura County this weekend when a $5.5-million carwash owned by ex-major leaguer Lenny Dykstra opens in Simi Valley. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Philadelphia Phillies' outfielder Lenny Dykstra, 35, once one of baseball's best leadoff hitters, is ending his comeback bid for now, and maybe for good. Dykstra, who sat out the last 1 1/2 seasons recovering from major back surgery, on Tuesday said he's going to take at least "a few months" off because of recurring back pain. His immediate plan is to visit two back specialists, then decide whether to attempt another comeback.

Lenny Dykstra, attempting a comeback with the Philadelphia Phillies, was discouraged after a meeting with Manager Terry Francona and acting General Manager Ed Wade. "The feeling I get is they have no confidence in my ability, and if that's the case I think they should release me," said Dykstra, 35, who missed the last 1 1/2 seasons because of back problems.

Philadelphia Phillie owner Bill Giles has all but ruled out a comeback this season by center fielder Lenny Dykstra. "He's not necessarily through forever, but nobody thinks he'll play this year," Giles said Friday. Dykstra, the leadoff hitter and sparkplug on the Phillies' 1993 NL pennant winners, underwent back surgery last July to alleviate intense pain that forced him out of the lineup each of the last two seasons.

The Simi Valley City Council has agreed to let pro baseball player Lenny Dykstra reapply for permission to build a carwash and baseball memorabilia showroom on Los Angeles Avenue after a competing carwash owner won a court order against the project. Noordin Yusufaly owns the First Street Carwash, a short distance away from where the Philadelphia Phillies outfielder is trying to build a car-detailing complex and baseball nostalgia shop.

The players stared at him in disgust the moment he entered the hotel lobby Wednesday morning, and by the time Lenny Dykstra stood before his peers, he had been chastised and ridiculed into submission. "It was like a Christian going into a lion's den," free-agent outfielder Andy Van Slyke said. "And there were 400 lions with their fangs sticking out. I'm sure it was humbling for him." Dykstra, reading from a prepared statement, apologized for publicly questioning the union's tactics.

A definition of cricket in Webster's dictionary is "fair and honorable behavior." So what is one to think when the International Cricket Council asked Australian authorities to substantiate allegations that Australian players were offered bribes on last year's tour of Pakistan. The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald reported an attempt to bribe Shane Warne and Tim May before the first test in Karachi. The report said the bribe offer was rejected. It wasn't cricket.

Philadelphia Phillie center fielder Lenny Dykstra, who will lose $31,147 a day if the players remain on strike during the 1995 season, said Thursday he thinks there is the basis for a settlement in the recommendations proposed by the special mediator and rejected by the union and that he is attempting to organize a meeting of 20 premier players for next week to discuss the union's strategy.

Lenny Dykstra had a dream season in 1993. He led the National League in hits, walks and runs, nearly doubled his previous high in home runs, finished second to Barry Bonds for most valuable player and led the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series. After the season, the center fielder signed a multiyear contract worth almost $25 million, making him baseball's highest-paid leadoff batter ever.