Lenny Dykstra: MLB Umpires Call BS On Extortion ... 'He's Full of Sh*t'

Lenny Dykstra was lying through his teeth when he claimed he would blackmail MLB umpires into giving him favorable calls during his playing days ... this according to SEVERAL umps.

The drama unfolded Tuesday, when Dykstra went on "The Herd" and claimed he spent $500k on private investigators to spy on umps -- and used their secrets (including gay sex romps) as leverage to get calls during games, especially during the 1993 season.

But we spoke to 4 of the top umpires who worked in the Majors during that period who all say Lenny is out of his mind, period.

-- Greg Bonin (MLB umpire 1984 to 2001)
"He's smoking something. He's full of sh*t. He always was, but now more than ever. I've never heard anything like that from an umpire. Never.

"I've heard a lot of funny stuff, but that's gotta be the funniest. Those drugs must've really messed his head up."

-- Larry Barnett (MLB umpire 1969 to 1999)
"It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. He should've saved the money, he probably could've used it now. I was in professional baseball for a long time and I never heard something so stupid. It's ludicrous."

-- Jerry Layne (MLB umpire 1989 to present)
"Lenny Dykstra is out of his mind. "If you go back and look at every Lenny Dykstra at-bat something like that would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Think about it, how many times does a specific umpire come across Lenny Dykstra at the plate in a season? Put the math to it."

-- Paul Runge (MLB umpire 1973 to 1997)
"As much as baseball keeps an eye on the umpires, something like this couldn't happen. And if someone came to an ump and said, 'if you don't shrink the strike zone, I'm gonna expose you.' I think they'd go right to MLB, and that player would be out of baseball in a flash."