August 16, 1969: Boog Powell’s inside-the-park home run caps 15-run Orioles slugfest over Pilots

“I didn’t even slide. I’m very proud of that.”1

This was Boog Powell’s description of his first-ever inside-the-park home run, nine seasons and nearly 200 homers into a career better known for clearing fences than dashing around basepaths. Yet it was his running that put an exclamation point on the Baltimore Orioles’ 15-run shellacking of the Seattle Pilots.

On August 16, 1969, the Orioles were cruising toward the pennant. They had beaten the Pilots the night before, as Mike Cuellar stopped Seattle on six hits, giving Baltimore 17 victories in its last 21 games (and 9 in its last 10). In the game before that, Jim Palmer had pitched a no-hitter against the Oakland A’s. At 82-35, Baltimore held a 15½-game lead over the second-place Detroit Tigers in the American League’s East Division. They were the only team in the majors with a winning percentage over .700.2 The last team to finish with a “.700-or-better season”3 was the 1954 Cleveland Indians.

In what turned out to be their only season of existence, the Pilots were third in the AL West, but much closer to the bottom than the top. They trailed the first-place Minnesota Twins by 21 games, while only 4½ games separated them from the last-place Chicago White Sox.4

With a crowd of 11,550 in attendance, the Orioles and Pilots played the second game of a four-game series at Seattle’s Sick’s Stadium, built in 1938 by Emil Sick, a local brewer.5 He owned the Seattle Rainiers club (Pacific Coast League), and the minor-league ballpark had a capacity of about 14,000.6

When the Pilots joined the AL as an expansion team for the 1969 season, Sick’s Stadium was converted to a major-league ballpark, with an estimated capacity of 28,500.7 Most of the seats were wooden benches, and the scoreboard had room to update fans on only one game: the one Seattle was playing.8

The ballpark was cramped in fair territory – 305 feet down the left-field line and 320 feet down the right-field line – and had almost no foul territory. The Baltimore Sun’s Ken Nigro emphasized the park’s cozy dimensions by writing, “If Boog Powell ever really caught hold of one, he probably could reach the cars zooming along the road beyond the center field fence.”9

Seattle sent veteran right-hander Diego Segui10 to the mound. Segui was selected from the Athletics in the 1968 expansion draft, and his 9-4 record was the best on the Pilots’ staff. He had made only two starts in his first 41 appearances with Seattle, but this was his sixth start in his last seven times on the mound.

Baltimore countered with its ace, Dave McNally. The southpaw was in the second of a four-season stretch in which he won at least 20 games. Unbeaten in his first 15 decisions in 1969, McNally earned his first All-Star selection,11 and he entered this game against Seattle with a 16-2 record and a 3.02 earned-run average.

The Pilots touched McNally for a run in the bottom of the first. He retired the first two batters, but then his “control deserted him.”12 He walked Wayne Comer and gave up an RBI double to Tommy Davis, who pulled the pitch past Brooks Robinson into the left-field corner. McNally then hit Greg Goossen with a pitch before getting Jerry McNertney to line out for the third out. In the bottom of the second, two more Pilots batters reached but were stranded.

Meanwhile, Segui faced the minimum through the first two innings, striking out Paul Blair, Frank Robinson, and Brooks Robinson. But the Orioles broke through in the third. Andy Etchebarren singled for the first Baltimore hit of the game. Chico Salmon swung at a 2-and-1 pitch and launched his first home run of the season. This shot, well over the barrier in left field, gave Baltimore a 2-1 lead.

McNally continued to struggle with his command in the bottom of the third. Comer led off with a single to center, but Etchebarren threw him out as he tried to steal second base. Seattle went on to load the bases with two outs on Goossen’s single and walks to McNertney and John Donaldson, prompting pitching coach George Bamberger’s third mound visit in as many innings. Again McNally stranded the Pilots runners when Ron Clark forced Donaldson at second.

The control problems then switched to Seattle. Segui walked Frank Robinson to lead off the fourth. Powell’s 20th double of the season plated Frank. Segui then walked Brooks Robinson. Davey Johnson forced Brooks at second, leaving the Orioles with runners at the corners and one out.

When Etchebarren doubled to left, driving in Powell, Seattle manager Joe Schultz made a pitching change. Marty Pattin, in only his second major-league season, came in to relieve Segui. Pattin was Seattle’s Opening Day starter, but after a short, ineffective outing on August 1, he was moved to the Pilots’ bullpen. Pattin intentionally walked Salmon to load the bases. McNally then drew a walk, which scored Johnson. Pattin retired the next two batters, but Baltimore had now built a 5-1 advantage. The Orioles had batted around, scored three runs on two hits and four walks, and left the bases loaded.

In the top of the sixth, the onslaught continued. Johnson drew a leadoff walk. Etchebarren singled to center, his third hit of the game. Salmon homered to deep left for his second homer of the game (and season), pushing Baltimore’s lead to 8-1. One out later, Don Buford singled, and Blair brought him home with his 25th circuit clout of the season. That spelled the end of Pattin’s time on the mound. John Gelnar entered in relief. He yielded a single to Powell before recording the final two outs of the inning. The Orioles had once again batted around, scoring five more runs.

McNally retired the first two batters in the home half of the sixth, but then Clark singled into left field. Gus Gil pinch-hit for Gelnar and worked a walk. Harper drove a single to left to drive in Clark with the Pilots’ second run of the game.

Jim Bouton became the fourth Seattle pitcher as the seventh inning began. After retiring Johnson, Bouton hit Etchebarren with a pitch. Salmon singled to left, and Bouton walked McNally to load the bases.

Buford rolled a grounder to first baseman Goossen, who threw to Clark at second, forcing McNally out. The Pilots could not complete the double play, and Etchebarren scored. Blair hit a single into left, and Salmon scored the Orioles’ 12th run of the game.

Baltimore added another tally in the eighth. After Bouton retired Powell on a grounder to first, he walked Bobby Floyd, who had entered the game in the sixth as a defensive replacement for Brooks Robinson. Bouton struck out Johnson but was tagged for back-to-back singles by Etchebarron and Salmon, and Floyd scored.

The ninth inning arrived, and Steve Barber took over the mound duties from Bouton. Barber began his career in 1960 in Baltimore – where he was twice selected as an All-Star – but was traded to the Yankees in 1967. The Pilots selected him in the 1968 expansion draft. After Buford grounded out to second, Blair stroked a single to center. Dave May forced Blair at second, bringing Powell back into the batter’s box.

Powell lifted a high fly ball into center field. He rounded first as the ball hit the fence. He said the ball “shot along the fence in center field and everybody was over in right. … I didn’t even slide. I’m very proud of that.”13 With Powell’s 33rd home run of the year – and 198th of his career – the Orioles now led 15-2.

Perhaps as a chance for Powell to catch his breath, Orioles skipper Earl Weaver kept him on the bench in the bottom of the ninth, sending Elrod Hendricks out to play first base. As a catcher, Hendricks led the American League in fielding percentage in 1969. This was the second time he played at first as a late-inning replacement for Powell.14

Jim Hardin was now pitching for McNally. He retired Tommy Harper but hit 37-year-old rookie Billy Williams15 with a pitch. Comer grounded out, advancing Williams to second. Davis then singled to right, and Williams scored Seattle’s third and final run of the game. Williams had made his major-league debut the night before and spent just under a week with the Pilots. He appeared in four games, and this was the only run he scored in the majors.

Baltimore had pounded out 15 hits. Both Etchebarren and Salmon had collected four hits, while Blair and Powell had made three hits each, including home runs. Powell ran his major-league-leading RBI total to 109. Salmon’s six runs batted in led the team. McNally earned his 17th win of the season. The Orioles won the next two games as well, completing a four-game sweep of the Pilots.

In 10 games against the Pilots in 1969, Powell batted .341 with two homers (both hit at Sick’s Stadium) and 10 RBIs. Powell was a power hitter, not a speedster; he only hit 11 triples in his 17-year career (none in 1969), and he notched a mere 20 stolen bases.16 Of his 339 home runs, this was his only inside-the-park round-tripper. He retired in 1977, and his career homers placed him in the top 50 of all ballplayers.17

Author’s Note

In Powell’s SABR biography, Joe Wancho writes, “Powell had a great season in 1969, smacking 37 home runs and 25 doubles, and setting career marks in RBIs (121) and batting average (.304). He was the American League’s starting first baseman in the All-Star Game. He had an 18-game hitting streak from May 9 to May 30, falling two short of the club record set by Bob Nieman in 1956.” Powell was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1970 after placing second in the MVP voting in 1969.18

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Joseph Wancho and copy-edited by Len Levin. The author wishes to thank SABR member Andy McCue, whose presentation at SABR 50 in Baltimore,19 combined with Boog Powell’s one-on-one conversation, gave the author inspiration to write about this game. The author also thanks SABR member Gary Belleville for his information about the Seattle teams and Sick’s Stadium.

Sources

In addition to the sources mentioned in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com, Retrosheet.org and SABR.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SE1/SE1196908160.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1969/B08160SE11969.htm

Notes

1 At SABR 50 in Baltimore, Boog Powell was a featured speaker in a one-on-one interview with Dan Connolly of The Athletic on Saturday, August 20, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor. These sentences are part of his description of his inside-the-park home run, hit 53 years before. For more of his comments, see https://sabr.org/latest/sabr-50-orioles-legend-boog-powell-to-speak-at-2022-baltimore-convention/. Accessed August 2022.

2 Despite winning a franchise-record 109 games in 1969, the Orioles’ winning percentage was .673.

3 Stan Farber, “Orioles’ Ghost-Fearing Salmon Strikes Fear in Hearts of Pilots,” Seattle News Tribune, August 17, 1969: 63.

4 By season’s end, Seattle had fallen to the bottom spot in the standings, four games below the White Sox and 33 games behind the AL West-leading Twins.

5 Sick had bought the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company when Prohibition ended in 1933, relaunching the Rainier beer brand. See rainierbeer.com/about/. Accessed September 2022.

6 Originally called the Seattle Indians, Sick renamed the team the Seattle Rainiers when he purchased the club in 1938. Sick sold the team to the Boston Red Sox in 1960 and the Red Sox sold the team to the California Angels in 1964. The team operated as the Seattle Angels from 1965 to 1968 and continued to play out of Sick’s Stadium.

7 Ken Nigro, “Seattle Park Not Palacial but Provides Thrills, Chills,” Baltimore Sun, August 17, 1969: 24.

8 Nigro.

9 Nigro.

10 Diego’s son David was selected by Baltimore Orioles in the 18th round of the 1987 free-agent draft. David Segui played for the Orioles from 1990 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2004.

11 McNally was 13-0 with a 2.88 ERA at the All-Star break.

12 Jim Elliott, “Orioles Send McNally to Hill Versus Segui in Game at Seattle,” Baltimore Sun, August 17, 1969: 23.

13 See https://sabr.org/latest/sabr-50-orioles-legend-boog-powell-to-speak-at-2022-baltimore-convention/.

14 Hendricks played parts of four games at first in 1969. For his career, he played nine games at first, including three starts, with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

15 Williams should not be confused with Hall of Famer Billy Williams, who spent all but two of his 18 seasons with the Cubs.

16 In his career, Powell was caught stealing 21 times.

17 According to The Home Run Encyclopedia (Bob McConnell and David Vincent, eds., SABR Presents the Home Run Encyclopedia (New York: Macmillan, 1996), Powell ranked 48th in career homers in 1996. As of the end of the 2022 season, he sits at Number 105, tied with Tino Martinez and Dave Parker.

18 In 1969 Powell’s 227 points ranked second in the MVP voting, behind the Twins’ Harmon Killebrew (294 points). Powell’s teammate Frank Robinson came in third, with 162 points.

19 Andy McCue, “The First Ball Four Saga: The Seattle Pilots’ Journey to Bankruptcy,” presented at SABR 50, August 20, 2022, Baltimore.