Boogs and BBQ
Oakland rookie Boog Powell meets his namesake, O’s Hall of Famer
When Oakland Athletics rookie Boog Powell’s home run landed on the flag court at Oriole Park on Monday night, the ball was dripping with serendipity.
It was the first career homer by the young center fielder who bears the same name as the Orioles legend, and if it had come down a bit farther to the left and bounced just right, it might have been dripping with baked beans.
Boog met Boog for the first time Tuesday afternoon in a made-for-MASN moment at the famous Boog’s BBQ stand, the 76-year-old Hall of Famer welcoming the 24-year-old center fielder with a “Big Boog” sandwich and a bear hug.
“I’m honored and I’m humbled a little bit, to tell you the truth,” said the elder Boog, who is no relation to Herschel Mack Powell IV. “It makes me happy. I think it’s pretty neat when you stop and you think of somebody picking your name up and carrying it into their profession.”
The feeling was clearly mutual. The fresh-faced A’s outfielder seemed genuinely thrilled to be in the presence of an Orioles Hall of Famer and former American League Most Valuable Player, not to mention one of the pioneers of reducedcalorie beer advertising.
The former Orioles first baseman became a national celebrity when Miller Lite hired him in1978 to do a funny commercial with umpire Jim Honochick. Athletics rookie Herschel Mack Powell IV, nicknamed Boog, left, bites into a "Big Boog" pork sandwich as former Orioles Boog Powell looks on at his Oriole Park BBQ stand.
The new Boog is a Southern California native who was nicknamed by his father, who — oddly enough — was a rabid California Angels fan, not a Baltimore transplant. So who is more honored and humbled? “That’s not even a question,” the young Boog said, “because he’s in the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, four-time All-Star … one-time MVP.”
Might be the first time anyone ever saw big Boog blush.
“Well, should have been, maybe, twice,” he said.
This was clearly a new experience for one of the true Orioles greats. It used to be a common occurrence for iconic third