Wednesday, February 7, 2018

#233 Jay Johnstone

Baseball’s equivalent to a class clown....sometimes labeled a flake but really more of a prankster or comic impressionist....good at all off field talents....favorite comic routine involved putting a pillow under his shirt which initially was an impersonation of Babe Ruth which then eventually morphed into LA manager Tommy Lasorda....decent hard working ball player at times... ...had ups and down and despite comedic tendencies adapted and overcame....nevertheless an extensive career of 15 full and 5 partial seasons....optimal performance came from a platoon role and being allowed to hit in natural line drive style.....Born November 20th 1945 sharing it with eventual teammate Rick Monday who was one year his senior...best practices were displayed in Philadelphia....one of the team’s best hitters mid 1974 to 1977 hitting over .300 and partook in 75% games....a slump in early 1978 started the frequent shuffle of teams with pinch hitting/part time status....stopped playing 1985.....When Jay was made they broke the mold.....one of a kind....started in the Angels organization.


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