Blake Perkins wears his reminders at all times.
There’s the simple but strong black beaded necklace his mother gave him.
He also wears a silver chain with an impressive cross, the first necklace he bought after he was drafted in 2015, in honor of his religious faith.
On it, he added a flower jewel that also used to belong to his mom.
And then he has the tattoos.
On his left shoulder is written “Perkins” and “Cole” for his family’s legacy, with Cole coming from his maternal side.
On his left forearm, facing him, there’s a hummingbird tattoo – symbolizing hope and comfort in a time of loss. Perkins, his wife, Falyn, and his late mother, Carisa Sharrett, share that identical tattoo. The three of them got the tattoos just a month or two before Carisa passed away from colon cancer last year.
“She was definitely a source of strength for me growing up. I do miss her dearly,” Perkins said.
For the many loyal Perkins fans and followers whose admiration has only grown for the 29-year-old Milwaukee Brewers outfielder, the question is this:
How has he possibly been dealing with so much over the past year?
Losing his mom and then enduring an uncertain baseball status as he’s bounced between Class AAA Nashville and Milwaukee twice already this season, all while being held to the highest standard the game demands.
How has he managed it?
The answer is layered, of course, and sometimes even a little gut-wrenching. But it starts, for him, with those symbols he wears every day to honor his parents, his wife and his faith.
The rest is practice.
Uncertain start to the season for Blake Perkins
As spring training wound down and opening day approached, Perkins was told he would be starting the season in Nashville.
“It was definitely frustrating in spring training, getting optioned in the first place,” Perkins said. “That’s the way it is for everybody; no one ever wants that.
“But I wondered: Do I need to re-evaluate? Like, OK, maybe I got too comfortable. Maybe there are things that I didn’t realize I needed to work on. So you kind of try to take it and be respectful about it, even though I wasn’t happy.
“I have my faith. I have a wonderful wife, too, who is along for this ride with me. That helps a lot. So, opening day, it was like, OK, I’m going to be down here in Nashville. I’m going do the best I can to get back up to the big leagues.”
But just days after being optioned to Nashville, Perkins was summoned back to Milwaukee. This was still March, on opening day, when the team discovered star outfielder Jackson Chourio had a serious hand injury that required him to go on the injured list.
“I don’t ever like to see people get hurt, especially someone like Jackson – really young, and he’s been playing so well,” Perkins said. “But that’s part of the game. You just got to kind of accept that things change quickly. That ties back into my faith. This is the only way I can get through these things and stay sane about it.”
The transition was actually not bad because Perkins had enough faith in himself to rent an apartment in Milwaukee despite the demotion to Nashville.
“I believed I was going be here,” Perkins said.
Perkins played for weeks with the Brewers and caught a would-be home run by the Detroit Tigers’ Jahmai Jones on April 21. And then upon Chourio’s celebrated return May 4, Perkins was once again told he would be heading back to Nashville.
“The same thing, this recent one, when I got optioned, I packed up my stuff from the apartment, and I drove down to Louisville. It was on an off day. It was fine,” Perkins said.
The Brewers’ travel secretary helped out and Perkins found a hotel pretty quickly in Nashville. On the drive there, he got as far as Louisville when he got the notification from Nashville manager Rick Sweet: Brewers left fielder Brandon Lockridge hurt his knee trying to make a catch at American Family Field.
Again, Perkins felt empathy; injuries are awful.
“I’m really happy that he’s in good spirits,” Perkins said. “He’s loved by everybody.
“And then, I get called back up. And so I drive back. And then I stay in my apartment again in Milwaukee.
“All that stuff can be a little bit challenging, the travel. But I don’t really see it as a burden. It’s just part of being – right now, this is my job.”
Just two years ago, Perkins was making incredible plays for the Brewers, robbing home runs from opponents. Now, this back and forth. It’s been a test.
Being mentally tough is nothing new for Perkins
Faith and support can take someone far, but a pro player has to have a certain level of mental roughness to manage all that in two short months. Perkins got his first experience in high school.
Perkins grew up in California and started his high school career at a school that was known for producing great baseball players. But in his sophomore year, his mom moved to Arizona, where he attended Verrado High School in Buckeye, near Phoenix.
“I was a little bit upset. I remember being really just frustrated about it,” Perkins said. “I was able to persevere through that and I ended up getting drafted – and being in a small town didn’t hurt my career at all. I was only 15 years old and I was able to get through it.”
It wasn’t easy. During summer baseball, Perkins would get up at 5:30 a.m., jump into the Oldsmobile Alero passed down from his aunt and drive one hour to the Tempe complex where the Los Angeles Angels work out in spring.
“Not knowing anybody, just showing up, to go play one game,” Perkins said. “Looking back on that, it’s like, wow, I’ve always wanted to do this. That was about the grind. That was about doing those small things.”
The only difference 15 years later in Milwaukee is that he didn’t want to have to ask his wife to join him. They met only two years ago and she’s remained in Arizona for some of his uncertain times.
“She actually flew home to Arizona the couple days before I got optioned, so she didn’t have to deal with any of me,” he said.
Pat Murphy has his own point of view
After Brewers manager Pat Murphy started Perkins in right field on May 10, Mother’s Day, Perkins delivered the game’s second-biggest hit − leading up to Brice Turang’s walk-off home run − with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning of the Brewers’ eventual 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.
Murphy was elated but also was honest about his perspective on Perkins.
“He’s been a huge part of this thing for two years, right? Huge part of it. He got votes for the Rawlings Gold Glove in center field. Huge part of our team,” Murphy said.
“And then this year, he had to kind of take on something different that doesn’t always feel good. I don’t know that he had the best attitude about it. I don’t say that to call him out, because everyone knows I love Blake and knows that I have a special relationship with him.
“It wasn’t his normal attitude. It wasn’t his normal reaction to not playing or whatever, but he was dealt a hand that he didn’t love. ‘I don’t want to go to Triple A. I want to make the opening day roster.’
“… I don’t think he handled it great.“
They are two perspectives of 2026, and both can be right. It’s just that Perkins has had to be the one to live with the choices.
So when Perkins had the success on Mother’s Day, it helped everyone.
“Blake is in a spot now where he realizes, hey, I gotta be the best version of me, and he’s done that, especially in the last week,” Murphy said. “And we’re going to rely on him. He’s an important piece of this thing. It’s a tough spot to be in, especially when you’ve been here full time for two years.
“But he’s typically such a great human that he responds. And seeing him get that hit the other day, in my position, who’s been around the kid for three years, that just lifts you beyond belief. You are so happy for the kid, just generally just really happy for him.”
Perkins stays rooted in faith
Two days after Mother’s Day, Perkins was quietly reading in the Brewers clubhouse, situated next to his friend Sal Frelick. He belongs here, after a successful season in 2024 and enduring the challenging one in 2025, when he also had to deal with a fractured leg that kept him out for the first half of the season.
In 2026, he’s not defined by the loss of his mom or any challenges with baseball. He chooses instead to turn back to faith.
“I do believe I am mentally tough, you have to be to play professional baseball for 11 seasons,” Perkins said. “There are times, and seasons, where that’s a little bit harder.
“I am rooted in my relationship with Jesus. It’s my biggest source of strength. And following that is my wife, and following that is my dad and my teammates.
“I’m not doing this by myself, I’ll tell you that. When I’m alone, I feel like that’s when stuff gets really hard. When I’m battling with my own inner dialogue. I would rather have help – people around me, and from God himself.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers’ Blake Perkins turns to faith, family to face challenges in life, baseball
Reporting by Lori Nickel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
