RIP Jay Johnstone

[fan_since79]

Former Angel, Cub, Dodger etc and funny guy. Rest in peace, Jay.

[Lazorko Saves]

A legend among those of us who did baseball cards as kids....

[mpcincal]

I just heard about this myself, RIP. I read two of the books he wrote after his career ended, and they were really fun reads. Some good stories about how he and Jerry Reuss would terrorize Tommy Lasorda.

Also had a great cameo to kick off the classic Angels-Mariners game on "The Naked Gun."

[Second Base]

Jay used to come to mine and my brother's little league games when I was a kid. Knew I liked sour liquorice, and would always buy it at the snack bar for us. Always signed autographs and mixed it up with parents in the stands. I haven't talked to him in 20 years I think. Good man. He'll be missed.

[Lou]

4 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Jay used to come to mine and my brother's little league games when I was a kid. Knew I liked sour liquorice, and would always buy it at the snack bar for us

That would get him arrested today.

[T.G.]

I had a Jay Johnstone bat that I got at an Angels game when I was a kid. Back when they had Bat Nights...

I'm sad to hear of his passing.

[AngelStew43]

A friend and I got to spend a couple innings watching the Dodgers 4th of July game from the Dodger bullpen compliments of Jay Johnstone.  

He was watching the game from the left field pavillion, same as we were.  Great guy, and a clutch hitter.  

[2112]

I remember a story of his when he was with the Cubs.  They were completely out of it at the end of the season and the manager said they should be playing for any records they could get.  In the game, Jay had already hit a triple and a home run, and his next at bat he slowed down and took a double even though he could have got another triple.  

He got fined by the manager. 

 

[Justin]

Temporary Insanity was the first sports book I ever read, leant to me by my second-grade teacher (who, after my father, was the person most responsible for my love of baseball).

[Redondo]

RIP Jay

[Tank]

one of the great pranksters in the game. he was mickey hatcher before mickey hatcher was mickey hatcher (or something like that).

he's one of the first angels i remember, and his baseball card was one of the first i owned.

[Second Base]

3 hours ago, Lou said:

That would get him arrested today.

Oh it definitely would. I think it was his nephew that played on my brother's team. It was a different time, my dad was coaching and they'd bring me to the ball park at a young age just to walk around and watch the game, pretty much completely unsupervised.

I had no idea who Jay was, I was like 5 or 6 at the time, and obsessed as I was with the game, I had no filter. I would ask random strangers about different things going on in the field, and Jay, in his safari outdoor had that he wore to every game was the most knowledgeable and never acted like he got tired of my incessant questions. So for a couple of years, I'd sit with him once or twice a week and he was my de facto parent supervision. 

[JAHV76]

RIP Always looked like he was having a good time. I read on Twitter he switched Ron Cey’s clubhouse chair with a kids chair.

[arch stanton]

One of my fellow Edgewood HS guys and a great character

RIP