Glen Perkins: A Fantastic Minnesotan

Minnesota Twins pitcher Glen Perkins throws during a baseball spring training workout in Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Ladies and Gentlemen: Thank you for joining me. We are gathered here for the announcement of Glen Perkins’ retirement. To begin the ceremonies, I’d like to introduce the 3x all-star’s better half, Alisha Perkins.

13 years
12 x 10= 120 saves
11 big league years
10 The BIG 10
9 /21/06 MLB debut
8 different managers
7 /3/11 First MLB Save
6 different teams (twins)
5 x10 +4 =504 strikeouts
4 pitches
3 all star games
2 amazing daughters
1 #️⃣1️⃣5️⃣ ? pic.twitter.com/8uSTJS01cr

— Alisha Perkins (@anwperkins) January 24, 2018

You have to wonder if she’s more appreciative of her husband breaking the 500 career strikeout mark or the two daughters they have together. I think my sports-addicted self knows which one, but I don’t want to say the wrong thing. Respect.

Anywho, as for the sports aspect, it was a hell of a ride for the MN native. Perkins, who went to Stillwater High School, refers to his senior year with the Ponies as “the best time” he has ever had playing baseball.

I’m sure Perkins enjoyed his college life as well, which also took place in Minnesota. During his tenure at the U of M, while representing his home-state Gophers, the MN boy accumulated a 19-5 record (13 complete games) with a 2.87 ERA. On top of that, the lefty still provides support for his alma mater.

Golden Gophers baseball player asks Glen Perkins for PS4, Twins pitcher delivers https://t.co/IjxWJ0ZfAM

— Bleacher Report MLB (@BR_MLB) January 21, 2016

In Kobe-like fashion, Glen Perkins played for one, and only one, franchise throughout his professional athletic career. In the 2004 draft, the Twins took the Maroon and Gold product in the first round (22nd overall)  “Same shit, different day”. “Different shit, same location”. Despite being riddled by injuries the last couple of seasons, his 624.1 innings over 409 lifetime appearances for the Pohlad-owned organization came at a discount.

Glen Perkins’ career ranks among Twins relievers:
#3 in Saves
#3 in Wins Above Replacement
#3 in Strikeout Rate
#3 in Strikeout-To-Walk Ratio
#7 in Win Probability Added

Overall, he was worth $52 million in on-field value while being paid $27 million. https://t.co/iYZFgCFxqT

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) January 24, 2018

After the excellent job Mrs. Perkins’ did framing her husbands’ career, there’s not much of a need for me to expand on that realm. She already touched on most of the major accomplishments. For example; the 3 All-Star game appearances. In the 2014 Mid-Summer Classic, he memorably closed out an American League victory in front of a hometown Target Field crowd.

Let me address the ? in the room. I won’t be playing baseball anymore. I’ll spend my time brewing beer, smoking meat woodworking and hanging with my family. Or, the same things I have been doing just without the baseball part.

— Glen Perkins (@glenperkins) January 24, 2018

Glen is already a Minnesota legend. Unsurprisingly, Minnesotan’s have called for Perkins to immediately be offered a front office position. If he’s not interested in that realm, maybe he’d be a great radio or TV personality. As you can see from his Tweet above, the 34 year-old would have plenty of hobbies to discuss on different local platforms.

If he wanted to go rogue and start some sort of show of his own, that would be amazing. In the rare chance that’s the route he takes, it’s unfortunate that a perfect name for the program is already taken.

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com