Boog Powell Has Colon Surgery

John “Boog” Powell, who starred with the Baltimore Orioles for 14 of his 17 major league seasons, is recovering from colon cancer surgery, hospital officials in Baltimore said Wednesday.

The procedure was performed Monday, according to Johns Hopkins Hospital spokesman Tom Haederle. During that procedure, a surgical team led by Dr. Keith Lillemoe removed approximately one-third of his colon.

It is anticipated that Powell, 56, will be hospitalized for the remainder of the week.

Lillemoe is the same surgeon who performed colon cancer surgery on the Orioles’ Eric Davis, who is expected to make a complete recovery.

Andy Etchebarren, an Oriole coach and former teammate, said the cancer was found during a regular checkup and Powell was in good spirits.

“I told him one good thing will come of it, he’ll lose some weight. He hasn’t eaten in a week,” Etchebarren said.

Powell hit all but 36 of his 339 home runs with the Orioles from 1961 to 1974. He then played with the Cleveland Indians for two seasons before finishing his career in 1977 with the Dodgers.

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The Oakland Athletics promoted shortstop Miguel Tejada from double-A Huntsville to take the place of shortstop Tony Batista, put on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left quadriceps.

Tejada, 21, was batting .275 with 22 homers and 97 RBIs in 128 games at Huntsville. Batista joined eight other Oakland players on the disabled list. He is batting .203 in 177 at-bats.