Darling doesn’t back down in Dykstra flap
Ron Darling would like everyone to stop talking about his book. Just for a few hours, though. “The focus of today should be on the Mets home opener,” the '86 Mets pitching great said in a statement Thursday morning, “one of the team's greatest traditions.”
Darling, who helped pitch the Mets to the World Series and is currently an analyst for TBS and SNY, has been dominating headlines this week after his new book came out in which he tore his '86 teammate Lenny Dykstra to shreds.
“Even though my recently released book 108 Stitches has sparked controversy, I stand by all recollections that were written, but I do regret that my former teammates have been approached for comment.”
The part of the book getting the most attention is the part where Darling claims Dykstra shouted “every imaginable and unimaginable insult and expletive in Boston pitcher Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd's direction” before Game 3 of the '86 World Series at Fenway Park. “Foul, racist, hateful, hurtful stuff.”
“Due to a legal threat, I have been advised not to make further comments at this time,” he concluded.
Dykstra — no stranger to the legal system - has threatened to sue both Darling and the publisher of the book.
In a foul-mouthed appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN radio, Dykstra denied the charge and said he would “drop him like a redheaded f—king stepchild” if he got his hands on Darling.
Dykstra called the racism allegations “flat-out lies” and said Darling writing about it to sell books is “crossing the line.”
“No one wants to be threatened,” Darling said in response, via ESPN. “I don't think at this point I would say anything to Lenny Dykstra, not a thing after these threats.”
The current Mets (5-1) finally return to Flushing after opening with a six-game road trip to D.C. and Miami. Noah Syndergaard takes the mound at Citi Field for a 1:10 p.m. ET start against Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals.
Then Darling can get back to selling books.