Jay Johnstone
Encyclopedia
John William Johnstone Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 player, active from 1966 to 1985 for the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...

, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

, Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

, New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

, Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

, and Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

. Johnstone was known as a versatile outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 with a good sense of humor, known for keeping clubhouses loose with occasional pranks and gimmicks. He later served as a radio color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

 for the Yankees (1989–1990) and Phillies (1992–1993).

Career highlights include:
  • As an Angel, he preserved Clyde Wright
    Clyde Wright
    Clyde Wright , nicknamed "Skeeter", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the California Angels , Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers . He also pitched three seasons in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants...

    's no-hitter
    No-hitter
    A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...

     against the Athletics in the seventh inning by catching a Reggie Jackson
    Reggie Jackson
    Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...

     fly ball 400 feet from straightaway center field, just in front of the wall (July 3, 1970).

  • As a Phillie, he went 7-for-9 in the 1976 National League Championship Series
    1976 National League Championship Series
    -Game 1:Saturday, October 9, 1976 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaReds starter Don Gullett held the Phils to two hits in eight strong innings and helped his own cause with an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth...

     against the Cincinnati Reds
    Cincinnati Reds
    The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

    . However, the Reds swept the Series.

  • As a Dodger, he hit a pinch
    Pinch hitter
    In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...

    -two run home run in Game Four of the 1981 World Series
    1981 World Series
    The 1981 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking their third meeting in the Series in five years as well as a record eleventh Series meeting overall and last Series meeting to date...

     against the New York Yankees
    New York Yankees
    The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

    , the home run rallying the Dodgers from a 6-3 deficit to win 8-7. The victory also enabled the Dodgers to tie the Series at two games each; they won the next two games to win it all.

Clubhouse prankster

He pulled off a number of infamous pranks during his playing days, including placing a soggy brownie inside Steve Garvey
Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...

's first base mitt, setting teammate's cleats on fire (known as "hot-footing"), cutting out the crotch area of Rick Sutcliffe's underwear, locking Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...

 in his office during spring training, dressing up as a groundskeeper and sweeping the Dodger Stadium infield in between innings, nailing teammate's cleats to the floor, and replacing the celebrity photos in manager Lasorda's office with pictures of himself, Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss -- pronounced "royce" -- is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the United States, who had a 22-year career from to ....

 and Don Stanhouse
Don Stanhouse
Donald Joseph Stanhouse is a retired baseball pitcher who had a ten-year major league career from 1972–1980, 1982...

. One time, during pre-game warm ups, he climbed atop the Dodger dugout and, in full game uniform, walked through the field boxes at Dodger Stadium to the concession stand and got a hot dog. He also once dressed up in Lasorda's uniform (with padding underneath) and ran out to the mound to talk to the pitcher while carrying Lasorda's book and a can of Slim Fast
Slim Fast
Slim•Fast is a brand of shakes, bars, snacks, packaged meals, and other dietary supplement foods sold in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland and Latin America by Unilever. Slim Fast promotes diets and weight loss plans featuring its food products. Its U.S...

.

As a baseball announcer, he once covered a microphone with a scent of stale eggs then proceeded to interview Dave Stewart, Mickey Hatcher
Mickey Hatcher
Michael Vaughn Hatcher is a former Major League Baseball player and a current coach. Most notably, he was Kirk Gibson's replacement for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series, batting .368 with two home runs and five RBI...

 and other players.

Many of the pranks, along with other aspects of his career, are described in the books he co-authored with sports columnist Rick Talley - Temporary Insanity and Some of My Best Friends Are Crazy.

Appearances outside of baseball

Johnstone appeared in the movie Naked Gun as a member of the Seattle Mariners in a game against the California Angels. Johnstone, who was a left-handed hitter throughout his career, bats right-handed in the movie.

After the Dodgers' 1981 World Series victory, Johnstone and Dodger teammates Rick Monday
Rick Monday
Robert James "Rick" Monday, Jr. is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball and is currently a broadcast announcer. From 1966 through 1984, Monday, a center fielder for most of his career, played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics , Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers...

 (with whom he shares a birthday, service in the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, and stints with the A's, Cubs, and Dodgers), Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss -- pronounced "royce" -- is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the United States, who had a 22-year career from to ....

, and Steve Yeager
Steve Yeager
Stephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from through , with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, , he played for the Seattle Mariners...

 appeared on Solid Gold
Solid Gold (TV series)
Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...

and sang their own rendition of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

's hit, We Are the Champions
We Are the Champions
"We Are the Champions" is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. One of their most famous and popular songs, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems...

.

External links

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