Hobbies — brewing beer and woodworking — were important to former Minnesota Twin Glen Perkins.
In an interview with the Growler magazine last year, the relief pitcher reflected on hearing from retired players "You're going to be a former player a lot longer than you're going to be a current player."
"And it kind of hit home," he told the magazine. "There are so many guys whose whole life revolves around baseball, and they get done and they don't have anything else to do. […] So I've always wanted hobbies, I've always had hobbies and just other interests."
At his home in Lakeville, Perkins was set up to pursue both his hobbies. Gala Farms, his 20-acre compound on the Vermillion River, includes a 1940s barn that he retrofitted to function as a fully equipped woodshop, and a free-standing rustic tavern, formerly a jockey stable, with a brewing room and six taps.
Perkins, who announced his retirement from baseball in January 2018, recently put the compound on the market, listed at $2.5 million. In addition to the barn and the tavern, it includes a 2017-built custom farmhouse with a huge two-story kitchen/living area, a catwalk and an attached silo with a top-floor playroom, accessible by ladder from the children's rooms.
Perkins packed a lot of distinctive materials into the house, including reclaimed barnwood flooring, reclaimed redwood walls from a house in Lakeville, and custom railings welded by a neighbor, according to listing agent Don Edam. "He tried to incorporate Lakeville into it."
For recreation, there's a saltwater pool, a poolhouse and a covered pole barn that Perkins would flood in winter and turn into a hockey rink dubbed "Miniucci" — a nod to the 3M Arena at Mariucci at the University of Minnesota. There's even a warming house. "He [Perkins] used to have hockey parties with his [child's] teammates," said Edam.
The 5,823-square-foot house includes five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a home gym and an art room with an epoxy floor for easy cleanup.
Don Edam, Engel & Völkers, 612-840-7638, has the listing.
