Ron Knight knew he wanted to wear an MLB team’s logo on a polo shirt rather than a baseball jersey from a young age.

The Director of Minor League operations for the Atlanta Braves was around 10 when the realization occurred, and he still remembers the moment like it was just yesterday.

“My father actually put the idea in my head of working for an MLB team while we were watching a Braves game one evening,” Knight said. “We were talking about what I wanted to be when I grew up, and the camera panned to the Braves’ executive suite during an at-bat. He said, ‘You know you could work for the Braves, too, right?"’

The Peachtree City, Ga., native watched as many baseball games as he could growing up, and it had a huge impact on him. His passion for the sport carried over into adulthood as he tried to work his way into an MLB front office.

Knight’s path towards his current destination began with his enrollment at Morehouse College, a Historically Black College in Atlanta, where other family members also attended. He double-majored in business and Spanish because he knew it would help him accomplish his dream of working in an MLB front office. He eventually studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain, to improve his language skills.

After getting two master’s degrees from Ohio University for business and sports administration, Knight interned with MLB and ESPN. His first job in baseball came as a trainee for the Gwinnett Braves, where he did everything -- including keeping the ballpark clean and moving heavy objects. He even worked as the mascot when called upon.

“It wasn’t like these new mascot costumes with cooling fans, but that is how bad I wanted it,”Knight said. “I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, even in that costume on a hundred-degree day working at a parade or gas station whenever it was needed.”

Knight used his time in the Minors to build a rapport with Braves front office members and scouts who would frequent Gwinnett’s home games. He built connections and gained experience that helped shape his career.

“I have so much respect for Ron and how he is such a great ambassador of our game,” said Tyrone Brooks, MLB’s senior director, Front Office & Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program. "He has always had a heart for giving back to Morehouse College, trying to open the door for someone else,

“He paid his dues interning dutifully with multiple teams with nothing given to him.”

Knight has come a long way since those early days, and so has the sport. He’s pleased to see clubs dedicating entire scouting departments to HBCU baseball teams, especially the smaller Historically Black Colleges in rural areas. He’s delighted to see initiatives like the RBI Program, DREAM Series, and other MLB programs aimed to diversify the talent pool.

And yes, he’s had a blast watching current NL Rookie of the Year Award candidate and Atlanta native Michael Harris II rise through the Braves' system.

“Working in baseball is a journey,” Brooks said. “Ron has earned every step of this journey, along with the respect from his organization and so many colleagues throughout the industry.”