Dennis Clay Powell (born August 13, 1963) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. Powell was undrafted and unrecruited out of Colquitt County High School and, after graduating, got a job on an ice truck to help support his mother and three brothers while playing semi-pro baseball in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

. It was not until his second season that he attracted the attention of scouts and was given a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $3,000 to join the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

(); he had been making $150 per week on the ice truck (). He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the Los Angeles Dodgers,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

, and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, in all or parts of eight seasons (–). Powell also played one season for the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Sta ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

in . One of Powell's brothers and a nephew died in a car accident in April 1989 in Georgia and two more of his brothers died in a car accident only a few months later in January 1990 on U.S. Route 319 in Georgia. As a big league hitter, Powell had three hits — all doubles — in 17

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

(since he played mostly in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

, during the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

era), for a .176

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. The fact that all three of Powell’s hits were two-baggers ties him with Earl Hersh and Verdo Elmore for the most hits in a major league career in which all the player’s hits were doubles.

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1963 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Calgary Cannons players Denver Zephyrs players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Moultrie, Georgia Piratas de Campeche players Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Dodgers players Seattle Mariners players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tiburones de La Guaira players Vero Beach Dodgers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub