“Jay came back and wanted to know if he could get a discount on the fine,” Monday recalled. With the Angels, Johnstone preserved Clyde Wright's no-hitter against Oakland on July 3, 1970. Besides his daughter, he is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary Jayne Johnstone; sister Sandy Clairmont; and son-in-law Ryan Dudasik. Trailing 6-3 in the sixth, Johnstone followed Mike Scioscia’s walk with a pinch-hit, two-run homer off Ron Davis to pull the Dodgers to within 6-5. He was active in the MLB Alumni Association, participating in charity events and speaking engagements across the country. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FILE - In this Oct. 24, 1981, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers batter Jay Johnstone hits a two-run home run in the sixth inning off New York Yankees relief pitcher Ron Davis in the World Series in Los Angeles. He caught a flyball by Reggie Jackson to straightaway center field just in front of the wall in the seventh inning. He also from dementia in recent years, his daughter said. His daughter said Johnstone's pranks didn't end at the ballpark. “It was certainly memorable,” said Fred Claire, the former Dodgers general manager who was the team’s vice president of public relations and marketing in 1981. "That was his motto to everything, bring a smile to people’s faces. Jay. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; He was 74. Jay Johnstone passed away. He locked Lasorda in his office during spring training. Johnson appeared in the hit movie “The Naked Gun” as a member of the Seattle Mariners in a game against the Angels and had a broadcasting career. He was 74. He responded with a home run. “If there was a tax on the amount of fun we had, we couldn’t afford to live,” Reuss, 71, said by phone from Las Vegas. He was also a notorious prankster who loved getting the goat of former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, once sneaking into the manager’s office and replacing Lasorda’s beloved celebrity photos with pictures of himself and fellow players Jerry Reuss and Don Stanhouse. 4070 Highway 17 Bypass South Murrells Inlet, South Carolina 29576. He died last Saturday of complications from COVID-19 and also had suffered from dementia in recent years, according to his daughter Mary Jayne Sarah Johnstone. But his biggest October hit came for the Dodgers in Game 4 of the 1981 World Series. Who in the history of baseball has dragged the infield in the fifth inning and hit a pinch-hit homer in the sixth?”. Johnstone reached the big leagues in 1966, the start of a lengthy career spent with the Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. The grim milestone comes as experts worry the U.S. is facing another peak in its outbreak. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. Another time, Johnstone and Reuss dressed up as groundskeepers to drag the infield during a game. Johnstone died following complications from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), … Returning to the dugout, they were fined on the spot by Lasorda, who then asked Johnstone to pinch hit. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); He was 74. Dodgers outfielder Jay Johnstone, wearing a padded version of manager Tommy Lasorda’s uniform, checks the progress of the rain delay before a playoff game against the Montreal Expos on Oct. 18, 1981, in Montreal, Canada. Jay Johnstone Biography – Jay Johnstone Wiki Jay Johnstone (born John William Johnstone Jr.) was an American professional baseball player and television sports announcer. Johnstone’s pranks were legendary. He wrote three books about his playing days and the pranks he pulled. Johnstone once gave Lasorda’s uniform to the Phillie Phanatic, the mascot placing it on a blow-up doll “and having a blast with it,” Reuss said. “COVID was the one thing he couldn’t fight,” his daughter said by phone. Johnstone played in 1,748 regular-season games in his career, finishing with a .267 batting average and 102 home runs. Jay Johnstone Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko. Johnstone, who hit .267 with 102 home runs and 531 RBIs in a 20-year major league career from 1966-85, suffered from dementia and was in a Granada Hills nursing home when he died of complications from COVID-19. Mary Jane Saunders had been married to Jay Johnstone from November 25, 1967, until his death in September 2020. If the team was in a spot where you felt your backs were against the wall, he was one of the reliable guys.”. FB.init({. A collection of moments during and after Barack Obama's presidency. Johnstone, 2-Time WS Champ and Popular Prankster, Dies at 74 Jay Johnstone, who won World Series championships as a versatile outfielder with … LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jay Johnstone, who won World Series championships as a versatile outfielder with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers while being baseball’s merry prankster, has died. Read about others here. Johnstone was born on Nov. 20, 1945, in Manchester, Conn., and his family moved to Southern California when he was a toddler. Johnstone appeared in the hit movie “The Naked Gun” as a member of the Seattle Mariners in a game against the Angels. “It’s really kind of shocking.”. During an interview with Yankee players Deion Sanders and Mel Hall, he got them to uncover a restaurant bread basket containing a snake, startling both players who jumped out of their seats.