Boog Powell Stats & Facts

Boog Powell

Positions: First Baseman and Leftfielder
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Right
6-4, 230lb (193cm, 104kg)
Born: August 17, 1941 in Lakeland, FL
High School: Key West HS (Key West, FL)
Debut: September 26, 1961 (9,529th in MLB history)
vs. NYY 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: August 24, 1977 
vs. PIT 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: John Wesley Powell
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

 

 

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1961

Carl Yastrzemski
Lou Brock
Boog Powell
Jim Fregosi
Sam McDowell
Dean Chance
Al Downing
Bill Freehan
Eddie Brinkman

 

All-Time Teammate Team

Coming Soon

 

Notable Events and Chronology for Boog Powell Career

An immense lefthanded slugger, Powell batted cleanup for the Orioles for over a decade and helped them to the WS four times in six years from 1966 to 1971. Standing slightly over 6’4″ and weighing at least 230 lb, Powell had bulging biceps and a thick neck, as well as a youthful-looking face topped by a shock of reddish hair. He batted behind Frank Robinson beginning in 1966 to form half of Baltimore’s fearsome power combination, and in the field he was an ample target at first base as well as a master at scooping low throws from the dirt.

Powell joined the Orioles after leading the International League in home runs at Rochester in 1961, and spent his first three seasons as a slow-footed left fielder before switching to first base in 1965. Offensively, he was an immediate success, hitting 25 HR in 1963, then leading the AL in slugging percentage (.606) in 1964 while blasting a career-high 39 HR despite missing several weeks because of a broken wrist. He slumped to .248 with 17 HR in 1965, then won AL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 1966 (.287, 34 HR, 109 RBI) while being hampered by a broken finger.

Before the 1967 season, Powell lamented, “Once, just once, I’d like to through a whole season without an injury,” and he did just that, playing over 150 games each of the next three seasons. In 1968 he hit a career-high .304 with 37 HR and 121 RBI, and in 1970 he was the AL MVP, narrowly missing a .300 average on the last day of the season and hitting 35 more HR with 114 RBI. In the WS, Powell homered in the first two games as the Orioles whipped the Reds. Powell helped Baltimore to a third straight WS the following year, blasting a pair of home runs in Game Two of the ALCS, but he hit only .111 in the WS as Baltimore lost to Pittsburgh in seven games.

The aging slugger was traded to Cleveland with Don Hood for Dave Duncan and a minor leaguer before the 1975 season, and he hit .297 with 27 HR for the Indians that year, but he hit only nine home runs in 1974 and none as a pinch hitter for the Dodgers in 1975. Powell hit three home runs in a game three times, and is second only to Eddie Murray on the Orioles all-time home run list.

 

 

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

One of the most popular players the Baltimore Orioles ever had, Boog Powell won the 1970 American League Most Valuable Player Award. A big, muscular, fun-loving team leader, Powell solidified the middle of the O’s lineup for more than a decade with his power from the left side of the plate. He hit 20 or more homers nine times in his productive career, and proved to be both patient and clutch.

Teams Boog Powell Played For

Baltimore Orioles (1961-1974)
Cleveland Indians (1975-1976)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1977)

Best Season: 1970
Not only did Boog win the MVP Award based on his .297 average, 35 homers, 114 RBI, and 104 walks, but he came up large in the post-season as well. He hit a homer and drove in six runs while batting .429 in the playoffs, and added two more homers and five RBI in the World Series.

Post-Season Appearances
1966 World Series
1969 American League Championship Series
1969 World Series
1970 American League Championship Series
1970 World Series
1971 American League Championship Series
1971 World Series
1973 American League Championship Series
1974 American League Championship Series

 

Awards and Honors
1970 AL MVP

Notes
Powell had a much higher slugging percentage on the road during his career: .479 compared to .426 at home, which was mostly Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.

 

Hitting Streaks
18 games (1969)

Transactions
Before 1959 Season: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent; February 25, 1975: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles with Don Hood to the Cleveland Indians for Dave Duncan and Al McGrew (minors); March 30, 1977: Released by the Cleveland Indians; April 5, 1977: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers; August 31, 1977: Released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

All-Star Selections
1968 AL
1969 AL
1970 AL
1971 AL

Replaced
Powell was originally a left fielder, and he replaced a myriad of Orioles out there, including Russ Snyder and Dick Williams (yes, that Dick Williams). Eventually, in 1965, Powell supplanted Norm Siebern at first base.

Replaced By
In 1976, Boog Powell was the Cleveland Indians first baseman despite being 34 and severely overweight. It was a good thing his friend Frank Robinson was the manager. The following spring, Boog was released at the tail-end of spring training, and the Tribe replaced him with Andre Thornton.

Best Strength as a Player
Power

Largest Weakness as a Player
Running speed

 

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