The former Phillies star was a savvy leadoff hitter who could work a contract negotiation as cleverly as he worked a rookie pitcher.

Retired now and 45, Dykstra, whose baseball career occasionally was marred by messy excesses - driving too fast, gambling too much - has transformed himself into a big player in the investment world.

He lives in Wayne Gretzky's old mansion, has a private jet, a string of successful car washes, and a growing reputation as a stock-market guru.

HBO profiled Dykstra on this month's episode of Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. Here are a few excerpts supplied by the show:

Host Bernard Goldberg: "Is it true you once said you don't read books because they might hurt your batting eye?"

Lenny Dykstra: "Yeah. You got to rest your eyes, man, plus it makes you think too much."

Goldberg: "Reading?"

Dykstra: "Too confusing."

Goldberg: "Reading?"

Dykstra: "Yeah, I still don't like to read."

Goldberg: "And I'm supposed to follow your investing advice?"

Dykstra: "Only if you like money."

Goldberg voice-over: "Jim Cramer is the host of Mad Money on CNBC and, like Lenny, he's also a little nuts. . . . Except, unlike Lenny . . . Cramer went to Harvard. . . . He worked at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street . . . and he started his own hedge fund . . . and made a fortune. And one day, out of the blue, he got an e-mail from someone who said he was Lenny Dykstra.

Cramer: "I e-mailed him back, I said, 'OK, listen, Lenny,' you know, 'quote Lenny.' And he goes, 'No, it's me. Lenny Dykstra.' And I go back, and I said, 'OK, what years did you play for the Phillies?' I'm thinking it can't be him. And the next thing I know he says, 'Let me show you my ideas.' And he sends me ideas, and I went to the editor of the TheStreet.com and said, 'Look, I got to tell you, a guy who is applying the same skills to money that he applied to sports. It's brilliant.' "

Goldberg: "You know, he doesn't sound like those guys at Goldman Sachs."

Cramer: "If I didn't know any better I would tell you that everything you hear from Lenny is an act. Because there's no way that he would ever, that you would ever feel like he's as smart as he really is, if you listen to him. Now, there are probably four or five people in the world who, if they sent me an e-mail, told me to learn a stock, I would actually take them seriously."

Goldberg: "And he's one of them?"

Cramer: "He's one of them. He's one of them."

Cramer: "I think people don't think of Lenny as sophisticated. But I am telling you, Bernie, that not only is he sophisticated but he's one of the great ones in this business. He's one of the great ones."

Goldberg: "Lenny Dykstra."

Cramer: "Lenny Dykstra. Lenny Dykstra."

Goldberg: "The one . . ."

Cramer: " . . . Lenny Dykstra, I know. It's like, 'Lenny Dykstra? Now come on, Jim, Lenny Dykstra?' Yeah. Yeah."

at 215-854-5068 or ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com.