The "Moon Man" Jay Johnstone

UPDATE: As many people have pointed out in the comments and in emails to me, this is not Jay Johnstone on the card. I've seen Johnstone's picture and this card hundreds of times, I've met him in person as well and I'm a little surprised I didn't realize this until it was pointed out. I'll try to get an answer on this mystery Dodger or maybe someone has a definitive answer as to who this is.

Here's my 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game Nickname Greats auto card NG-JJ

Anyone catch the lunar eclipse yesterday? I was stuck in Downtown LA, so I wasn't able to get the telescope out to see it. But I did view it live on my phone with the SLOOH Space Camera ap. It was an interesting way of watching the event, and I'm happy I got to see it. There won't be another lunar eclipse until 2014.


Of course this got me thinking of the blog, and how I could incorporate the lunar eclipse into today's post. My first thought was Wally Moon, but I've already done a post on him. Then I remembered Jay Johnstone, the "Moon Man."


Johnstone, who was one of baseball's great pranksters, played for the Dodgers in 1980, 1981 part of 1982 and again in 1985. But he got his nickname while with the California Angels.


From SABR.org:

At some point during his early years with the Angels, Johnstone acquired a lasting nickname: Moon Man. Catcher Bob “Buck” Rodgers liked to tell one version of the story. “One day he lost a ball in the sun, but when he came back to the bench he said, ‘I lost it in the moon.’' The connections with outer space were fitting, especially when the whole nation was watching the Apollo missions. In 1981, though, Johnstone told Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times that it came about as he sneaked back into his hotel room after curfew, cat-burglar style, and told another roommate, “Out of the way, you’re standing in my moonlight.”