JJ Triva: John William Johnstone Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player, active from 1966 to 1985 for the California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. Johnstone was known as a versatile outfielder with a good sense of humor, known for keeping clubhouses loose with occasional pranks and gimmicks. He later served as a radio color commentator for the Yankees (1989–1990) and Phillies (1992–1993).
Career highlights include:
Clubhouse prankster
He pulled off a number of infamous pranks during his playing days, including placing a soggy brownie inside Steve Garvey'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 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 and Don Stanhouse. 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.
As a baseball announcer, he once covered a microphone with a scent of stale eggs then proceeded to interview Dave Stewart, Mickey Hatcher 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.
While fictionally playing for the Seattle Mariners (a team he never played for in his real baseball career), Johnstone struck out looking against fictional California Angel pitcher Dave Spiwack in the top of the first inning in the movie Naked Gun. 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 Monday, Jerry Reuss, and Steve Yeager appeared on Solid Gold and sang their own rendition of Queen's hit, We Are the Champions.
The Angeles want people to come out to the ball park. Cheaper parking and lower ticket prices than the Dodgers. Frank McCourt has led an extravagant lifestyle, and many of his family members are in top positions with the team. The Dodgers have been stripped of their money.
He said the Angels have outsold the Dodgers ticket sales for the last three years. They draw a good attendance and give a good play. Jay was a high school quarterback and was lucky enough to get many offers for football scholarships, he even signed seven letters of intent to play football. About that time, the Angels came along and asked him to play. He said “sure.” He said “It was the best thing I ever did… pro-football players can barely walk after they retire.”
