Lest we forget: Jay Johnstone

It’s a funny thing about death.

When you’re a kid, and you hear about some old ballplayer passing away, you don’t give it much thought. Even if you’re a big fan and know your history, you never saw these guys play so it doesn’t have the same existential effect (nor should it when you that young).

And just like you don’t think about the business end of the game, that your heroes actually get paid while you would gladly do it for nothing, you don’t consider that the athletes you’re watching now — the Tom Seavers, and even the Jay Johnstones — are mortal, despite the sentiments to the contrary, at least when it came to guys like Tom Terrific.

But when you get to be my age, and these are the players of your youth, it carries a double meaning: that these guys are getting to the winter of their years … and so are you.

Johnstone passed away this past Saturday at the age of 74. The cause of death was attributed to complications from coronavirus.

He was one of those colorful characters in the game, a.k.a., a flake. I’ve seen a number of photos posted on Facebook with him posing with kids back in the 1970s. He was a fun and funny guy. “Prankster” is the word that pops up in a lot of his obituaries. (Here’s a piece by Ira Berkow from almost 30 years ago.)

But he was also a pretty good player. You have to be to stick around for 20 years, split between the Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Yankees, Cubs, White Sox, A’s, and Padres. When he retired as a player in 1985, he transitioned into the broadcast booth.

Johnstone published three books about the funny side of the game, all with the assistance of Rick Talley:

• Temporary Insanity: The Uncensored Adventures of Baseball’s Craziest Player (1985)
• Over the Edge: Baseball’s Uncensored Exploits from WAY Out in Left Field (1987)
• Some of My Best Friends Are Crazy: Baseball’s Favorite Lunatic Goes in Search of His Peers (1990)

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