I'm not going to lie, I just never knew much about Boog Powell. I've known that he's a giant hulking dude, that he played first base, that he opened up Boog's BBQ, and that he's one of the friendliest ex-players I've ever interacted with. I figured he was good, being that he wouldn't have been on the team if he wasn't. But I never really knew anything about him statistically until I did a little research on some of the best Orioles' seasons. SC did name him the #6 Oriole of All Time, though, so maybe if I paid better attention I'd have known of his awesomeness that much sooner (an aside about the top 40 O's...it might need updated as it's over three years old and Brian Roberts is nowhere to be seen).
Did you know that Boog Powell has the 4th highest single season OPS+ of any Oriole? In 1964, at just 22 years old, Powell had an OPS+ or 176, a year when he played LF. The only players to have an OPS+ higher in a season were Frank Robinson (198 in '66, 187 in '67) and Jim Gentile (187 in '61). In fact, in the top 20 OPS+ seasons of the Orioles, Boog Powell's name appears four times, which is tied for most with Eddie Murray and Frank Robinson. Not bad company.
Boog Powell hit over 300 HR as an Oriole and is currently 83rd on the all time HR list in baseball. 5th most games as an Oriole, 5th highest SLG, 5th most hits. Top 5 in most things, top 10 in everything else.
I wonder why I never heard more about Boog growing up? Makes me feel like I'm not a good enough Orioles fan.