This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Jay Johnstone spent 20 seasons as a major league outfielder and played in the World Series for the 1978 Yankees and the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers.

Although he had a solid career, he was never an All-Star and often saw only part-time action while playing for eight teams. When he died on Saturday in the Granada Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles at 74, he was remembered chiefly for his greatest hits when he wasn’t wielding a bat.

Jay Johnstone was among baseball’s most creative pranksters.

His finest moment in the batter’s box came when he delivered a pinch two-run homer in the sixth inning of Game 4 of the 1981 World Series, helping to propel the Dodgers to an 8-7 victory over the Yankees that tied the Series at two games apiece. The Dodgers won the championship in six games.

Source: New York Times

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