July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Lenny Dykstra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a petition that says the former Major League Baseball All-Star owes $10 million to $50 million.

The former center fielder for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies has less than $50,000 worth of assets and 50 to 99 creditors, according to a petition filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in the San Fernando Valley.

Dykstra, 46, already faces about 20 lawsuits stemming from his entrepreneurial work, including The Players Club, an athletes-only magazine start-up. He owes JPMorgan Chase & Co. $12.9 million, according to the filing, and Bank of America Corp.’s Countrywide and credit-card units a combined $4.2 million.

Dykstra also owes almost $1 million to jet charter services, about $342,000 to celebrity lawyer Daniel Petrocelli and $229,000 to literary agent David Vigliano.

Known as “Nails” by fans for his aggressive playing style, Dykstra became an entrepreneur after injuries ended his career, opening a chain of car washes, a subscription Web site that offered stock picks and The Players Club.

In an ESPN.com story in April, Dykstra said he was worth $60 million and paid $18.5 million for a house in Thousand Oaks, California, that once belonged to Hockey Hall of Fame member Wayne Gretzky. He also owned a Rolls Royce and a private jet.

Athletes’ Lifestyle

With his parent company, The Players Club Operations LLC, Dykstra said he wanted to create a lifestyle for athletes, offering credit cards, a concierge service, charter jets and an annuity program to provide recurring cash flow for retirement.

Dykstra also was the subject of at least 24 legal actions in the past two years, ESPN.com said, and the Gretzky estate he planned to sell for a profit sits vacant.

Dykstra broke into the majors in 1985 with the Mets and helped the team win a World Series title the following season.

He joined the Phillies in 1989, and four years later finished second to Barry Bonds in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting as he helped the franchise reach the World Series. Dykstra had a career .285 batting average with 81 home runs and 404 runs batted in.

The case is In re Lenny Kyle Dykstra, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (San Fernando Valley), No. 09-18409.

To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Kuriloff in New York at akuriloff@bloomberg.netErik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 8, 2009 14:53 EDT