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In the past, when Blake Perkins was injured, he might have withdrawn into himself a bit. That was only natural, and in most organizations, it's certainly permissible.
"The only expectation I have [for injured players] is their commitment to getting healthy and keeping their attitude right—doing whatever they can to get ready, and to participate when the team is right," manager Pat Murphy said. "Influence others in a good way, speak about things in a good way, not a negative way, don’t become a dark cloud over people, and Perk is all of that."
Being more honest with himself than anyone else asked him to be (and admitting to something no one had even accused him of), though, Perkins said he hasn't always met that standard in his heart.
"Staying engaged is big—especially right now, when I can’t do anything," Perkins said Friday. "I can’t hit, I can’t do anything baseball-wise, so that’s what I get to do instead, is to support the guys around me. I love all these guys, so I enjoy watching them play. In the past when I’ve had injuries, I don’t think I’ve done the best job being the best supportive teammate, so this go-around, I’m really trying to make sure that’s a point of emphasis. Stay engaged, see what’s going on, and how the game’s moving."
In that spirit, Perkins has been in the dugout for at least the first handful of innings of most of the Brewers' games this Cactus League season. It's a small thing, but it's noticeable—and noticed, not just by Murphy but by other coaches and teammates. Since signing as a minor-league free agent with the team late in 2022, Perkins has become an indispensable part of the Crew's clubhouse—and, of course, their outfield defense. He doesn't want to lose either place, or let down those who rely on him in either respect.
Right now, of course, he can't take reps in the outfield, any more than he can take batting practice. He has to wait until (at least) this weekend to start getting back to work; he has to allow the fracture in his shin (suffered on a foul ball in live batting practice) to heal. He's confident, though, that he'll be able to get right back to his accustomed level, at least in the field.
"The good thing is that I’ll have time to get my feet back under me, and I would like to believe that I’ve been doing this long enough that it won’t take a long time to get back into game shape, outfield-wise," he said. "I love playing out there. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to showcase what I can do. I don’t personally think that this will affect any of that, but I will make sure I do the work necessary to get back ready."
The more frustrating thing, for him, is that the injury is stealing valuable preseason looks from him. Over the winter, his focus was on ways to reduce his strikeout rate—but that comes far more from changes he needs to make to his approach than from adjustments to his swing.
"I think always with me, it’s just working on the hitting side, working on getting stronger," said Perkins. "It’s kind of hard to work on cutting down strikeouts during the offseason, because I’m not facing live pitching every day, but that was a goal coming into this year. Just being more aggressive early in counts."
Indeed, making good swing decisions sometimes has to mean swinging more often, not less, and Perkins said more of his adjustments will be mental and centered on his approach within at-bats, rather than physical tweaks. That's hard to practice, though, when swinging is forbidden behavior.
The consensus seems to be that Perkins got lucky; his injury could have been worse. It should heal quickly. and he might be back on the field (at least in a minor-league rehab setting) by the end of April. In the meantime, he can take some mental reps, but the surest sign of his maturation and his dedication might be the way he's taken the setback in stride—looking beyond himself and trying to help his teammates, even if be from behind the scenes.
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