Powell set to encounter namesake
Rookie shares nickname with Orioles legend, 1970 AL MVP
BALTIMORE — The Boog Powells — Boogs Powell? — will meet at last Tuesday at Camden Yards.
The Oakland Athletics rookie, nicknamed Boog since he was a small child in order to distinguish him from his dad and grandfather — he’s Herschel Mack Powell IV — always has wanted to meet the original Boog Powell, a Baltimore Orioles legend who was the 1970 AL MVP but who might be even better known now for his barbecue stand at Camden Yards. Baltimore’s Boog, 76, will be taking the younger Boog, 24, out to his stand Tuesday afternoon.
“I’ve always told myself I’d meet him here, and it’s finally here!” the A’s Boog said Monday. “It’s not really fazing me yet, but it’ll hit me tomorrow. They’re sending a cart to take me to his barbecue; he asked what kind of meat I like so I think he’s going to make something good. … I’m excited.”
The two Boogs also might wind up looping in 12-year old Jeffery “Boog” Powell, who became something of a folk hero during this year’s Little League World Series.
“So that’s pretty cool,” Powell said. “It will be interesting to meet the real … the older one, because he’s so big and I’m so small.”
The original Boog Powell was 6-4, 230 pounds during his playing days; the A’s Boog Powell is 5-10, 185. The 12-year-old is 5-2, 220 pounds, so Boogs come in all ages and sizes.
“Every generation has its Boog,” A’s second baseman Jed Lowrie said with a laugh.