Twins all-star Perkins gives back

CEDAR RAPIDS – How many major league all-stars would take the time in the dead of winter to hop on a charter bus and tour Upper Midwest garden spots like Cedar Rapids and Waterloo?

Glen Perkins would.

'It's a bunch of things,” the Minnesota Twins pitcher said Tuesday night, prior to the 19th Cedar Rapids Kernels Hot Stove Banquet at the Cedar Rapids Convention Center. 'I think, first and foremost, it's getting out and seeing the fans and helping promote Twins baseball.”

Perkins, new Twins Manager Paul Molitor and third-base coach Gene Glynn were part of the club's annual Winter Caravan that stopped in the City of Five Seasons in conjunction with the Hot Stove Banquet. Part of the banquet included the induction into the Cedar Rapids Professional Baseball Hall of Fame of Chili Davis, Lanny Peterson, the late Nick Adenhart and late Burt Wilson.

Perkins is considered one of the top 10 closers in the big leagues and has been an all-star game selection the past two seasons. He got the save in the 2014 game at Minneapolis' Target Field, which he described as the highlight of his career.

Less than six months later, he took the time to be here, seeming to be the antithesis of today's me-first professional athlete.

'The Twins have done a lot for me as an organization, and it's fun to give back and see fans outside of the Metro area, whether you're down here, or in northern Minnesota,” Perkins said. 'I've been to Minot, N.D., on previous caravans, been across North Dakota and South Dakota. Those fans don't get to come to very many games … To come here and return the favor is kind of important. I just think it's the right thing to do.”

Perkins said he and his teammates are excited to get going under Molitor, who was hired in November to replace Ron Gardenhire as Minnesota skipper. The 58-year-old was a coach for Gardenhire last season, has served a previous coaching stint with the Twins and has been a roving minor-league instructor for them.

'Personality wise, they are very different, but I don't want to compare the two,” Perkins said. 'We're moving forward, and I think we're all excited to play for (Molitor) and have new leadership. It was time for a change. Gardy was awesome, he gave me my chance, gave me a bunch of chances, and I'll be forever grateful to him.

'But we needed a fresh breath of air. We'll get that from Paul, and I think we're all excited to get to spring training and get onto the field and see what he's going to be all about.”

Molitor, of course, is a hall of fame player, one of the few to go the manager route.

'It's obviously very exciting for me,” he said. 'It's been just about two months since I was recommended by (General Manager) Terry Ryan to management and they made the approval. It's been good for me, I've enjoyed the ride so far. We've been busy putting together a staff, and now I've been concentrating on getting ready for spring training.

'I'm elated. I've done a lot of things in this game, I'm not getting any younger, and I didn't know if I'd get this chance. But to get the chance to manage a team that as a young man I grew up following … I'm certainly looking forward to it.”

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