Chandler originally submitted the following piece for a journalism class. He shamefully recycles it here, with minimal modification, as content for his blog. The format and style may be a little different from that of the usual content published in this forum, but hopefully it is no less enjoyable to read.
In September 2006, Glen Perkins made his major league debut at Fenway Park. He got out all four batters he faced, striking out the first of them, Carlos Peña, on three pitches. The Twins lost the game 6-0, making the chase for the AL Central title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs a little tougher, but for Perkins, it was an easier "L" to take.
From the day he was drafted by his boyhood team, the Stillwater native and University of Minnesota alumnus took just 836 days to rocket through the minor leagues. When the team got back to Minnesota four days later, he marveled at using the same locker room as Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, and he remembered asking Tom Brunansky for baseballs in right field.
"There’s all these moments where it's a whirlwind," Perkins, who retired in January, said. "And then you get to take a second and think about, 'Man, I got to do this.'"
After an impressive cup of coffee and a postseason cameo, Perkins was included in both
Baseball America and
Baseball Prospectus' preseason prospect rankings lists. He thought the experience wouldn’t end.
"When I got up, I… thought, like, I was just going to be there forever," Perkins said. "'Okay, I made it, and now here I am.'"
