University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher All-American Perkins Retires from MLB
1/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Former Gopher Baseball All-American pitcher and Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins announced his retirement from baseball Wednesday morning in a tweet.
The three-time All-Star spent each of his 12 Big League seasons with the hometown Twins, collecting 120 career saves including three-straight seasons with 32 or more each season from 2013 until 2015. Despite battling injury the last two seasons, he wrapped his career with a 3.88 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He won 35 games and finished 228 out of the bullpen for Minnesota.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
As a Gopher, he finished with the fourth-most strikeouts in program history (230) in just two seasons while going 19-5 in 2003 and 2004. He exited the program being drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft (22nd overall) by the Twins, but not before claiming back-to-back S Team All-Big Ten honors and Second Team All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball. In 2004, he was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and the year prior earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Year nod and landed on the Freshman All-America Team by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.
Congratulations to former #Gophers All-American @glenperkins on a great MLB career! pic.twitter.com/ce5Dfnlucx
- Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) January 24, 2018
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
Kudos to @glenperkins on a stellar @Twins career. I will always admire and respect his journey and authenticity. Excited for @anwperkins and the girls that Dad will be around a bit more. https://t.co/Owk4v3KnAr
- Dave St. Peter (@TwinsPrez) January 24, 2018
Glen Perkins is retiring after struggling to make it back from injuries. I wrote an appreciation of the three-time All-Star's time in a Twins uniform, on and off the field. I'd love to see him wind up in the Twins' front office or in their broadcast booth. https://t.co/iYZFgCFxqT
- Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) January 24, 2018
Per @1390GCS, Glen Perkins has officially retired from baseball. Here's the tribute I wrote to him and his fantastic career back in October: https://t.co/sLfhelUCHo #OneOfUs pic.twitter.com/QwERkizB5K
- Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) January 23, 2018
Former #mntwins closer Glen Perkins retires after 12 seasons, 3 all-star selections. https://t.co/4vlp77NTNm
- Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) January 24, 2018
Glen Perkins is calling it a career. #mntwinshttps://t.co/l4DoO0cm7u
- FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) January 24, 2018
Stay up to date with all Gopher Baseball news by following the Gophers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the links provided, or get all Minnesota Golden Gopher athletics news and highlights, including exclusive behind-the-scenes content and special ticket offers and promotions delivered straight to your inbox by signing up today!#MNTwins reliever Perkins retires after 12 major league seasons https://t.co/iRDnyCuYz2 pic.twitter.com/DAUpWeYdyO
- Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) January 23, 2018
