Source: Heritage Auction 1986 Lenny Dykstra New York Mets World Championship Trophy

Lenny Dykstra could use some cash right now, but an upcoming auction of his World Series trophy and ring will apparently not help him.

Instead, auction proceeds will go to the Beverly Hills pawn shop which claims Dykstra pawned the items but never reclaimed them.

The auction will be conducted October 1 and 2 through Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

Items include Dykstra's 1986 New York Mets World Series championship trophy and ring.

The auction house believes each could sell for $20,000. Also for sale, Dykstra's autographed, game- winning 9th inning home run baseball from game three of the National League Championship in 1986, and his 1993 NL Championship ring from the Phillies.

Source: Heritage Auction 1986 Lenny Dykstra New York Mets World Championship Ring

Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions Director of Sports, tells me that items coming straight from athletes "command a higher price from collectors". He says he's only aware of two previous examples of World Series rings coming up for auction from players on the 1986 Mets team.

George Foster's 1986 ring sold for over $16,000 in 2002, and Bruce Berenyi's ring sold for over $14,000 in 2005.

As for trophies from that team, Ron Darling's trophy sold for over $14,000 in 2003, and, a year later, Darryl Strawberry's trophy sold for nearly that same amount.

"Given that Lenny Dykstra was a major star of that 1986 Mets team, and the fact that he has remained in the spotlight since his playing career," Ivy says, "we estimate that both his 1986 Mets ring and his personal World Series Trophy will sell in the $20,000 to $30,000 range at auction."

I've been told that Dykstra "never picked up his ticket" when he took the items to the South Beverly Wilshire Jewelry and Loan, run by Yossi Dina, "the pawnbroker to the rich and famous".

Dina tells me Dykstra came into the store months ago to pawn the items, and he loaned him around $75,000. He says under California law, items need to be redeemed within four months, and then you have ten days to foreclose. Given Dykstra's financial situation, he foreclosed, and figures that, with interest, he's owed more than $100,000. "I don't think I'll get that all back from the auction," he tells me.

Source: Heritage Auction 1986 NLCS Game Three Walk-Off Home Run Baseball

Meantime, I've also received a copy of letter from attorneys representing the court-appointed trustee put in charge of managing Dykstra's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The letter says that security guards at Sherwood Country Club have been told not to let Dykstra, or anyone representing him, near the two estates he owns inside.

"It has come to our attention that the properties...are being vandalized," the letter says.

Stay tuned...

Update - A Dykstra Twist You Won't Believe

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