Actor Michael J. Fox once said something that former Northwestern Lehigh and Lehigh University baseball standout Rafe Perich has learned through playing the game: “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.”

Pursuing perfection defined Perich’s first two professional baseball seasons.

He hit just .223 in A-ball with the Texas Rangers organization. Every tool was there except one — the mental side of what it takes to be a professional ball player.

At an Alumni Day event at Lehigh University following that season, Perich got the chance to talk with fellow alum and former major leaguer Matt McBride.

“That was an important discussion for me,” said Perich, whose father, Josh Perich, was McBride’s hitting coach at Lehigh University. “We talked about the mental side of the game and what a grind it can be and that you have to not worry about being perfect and just play the game. You can have all the tools down, but if the mental side isn’t there, it definitely affects you.”

At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Perich had the frame, and he was disciplined about his conditioning and diet to stay in shape. He put in the work — all the drills, all the extra batting practice — but the results still weren’t there.

“I had to learn to not worry about being perfect and just play the game,” said Perich. “I had the tools and everything else was there, but I had to get back to playing the game and find ways to keep it fun.”

The 24-year-old Perich seems to be having a lot of fun.

Perich opened the 2026 season, his third in the Rangers organization, back at High-A Hub City and started 0-for-17.

Things turned around quickly.

By the end of April, he was hitting .236, and the game started to become fun again.

On May 3, Perich tied a career high with three hits in a game and set a new personal best with five RBI.

Later that month, in a nine-day span, he put together two multi-homer games, each with four hits and four RBI. Before May was over, he had earned a promotion to Double-A Frisco.

“It was kind of funny,” said Perich. “At the time, I was having trouble with pop-ups and was just really struggling with them. The manager called me into the office and asked what was going on. Before the conversation was over, he told me I was coming here (to Frisco), so it was kind of weird timing.”

In a series at Corpus Christi just after the Fourth of July, Perich put together a six-game stretch in which he hit .381 (8-for-21) with four home runs and six RBI — production that earned him the first Player of the Week award of his professional career.

“Double-A is usually the level where players start to fall off,” said McBride. “A lot of good players in A-ball really struggle at that next level. When I saw how well he was doing at Double-A, I was really excited for him.

“One of the biggest differences in players who are really good is consistency. He’s showing that consistency now and that’s a good sign.”

Perich was drafted by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2024 draft and is ranked the No. 19 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline. Combining his time between High-A Hub City and Double-A Frisco, he’s batting .299 this season with 24 home runs and 74 RBI.

Teams sometimes push a player up a level late in the season to give him a taste of what’s ahead. For Perich, that could mean a short stint at an even higher level — or, if he stays at Frisco, a run in the Texas League playoffs, since the Rough Riders have already clinched a postseason berth by winning the first-half division title.

“I don’t really look at that (being promoted) or worry about what other players above me are doing,” said Perich. “I didn’t think I would be going up to Double-A when I did, so I just focus on what I’m doing here and what I can control. I feel pretty good about where I’m at and how I have developed as a player.”