This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding¡¯s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- It took a knee injury for Danny Montgomery to adjust his Major League dream. Now he is informing young people of Major League aspirations that don¡¯t involve playing.

Montgomery is the Rockies¡¯ vice president/assistant general manager of scouting and has been with the club in various scouting roles since being one of the club¡¯s original hires in 1991 -- about a year and a half before the expansion Rockies¡¯ first game. He had worked a couple of years in scouting with the Dodgers.

But before all that, Montgomery was a middle infielder in the Dodgers¡¯ system from 1986-88, before the injury ended his career.

Most of Montgomery¡¯s time is spent scouting potential Major Leaguers, but he is passionate about letting those who might not have that potential know that baseball has a place for them. Montgomery recently was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Rise 2 Greatness Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formerly known as Perfect Game Cares.

The foundation, according to its website, provides resources and no-cost programming in socioeconomically challenged areas through camps, clinics, combines, gear distribution, scholarships, mental health support, performance support, violence prevention and STEM/educational support.

Montgomery¡¯s passion is using his experience to demonstrate the many ways one can contribute to the sport.

¡°I¡¯ve been really impressed with what they¡¯ve been doing,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°They¡¯ve given a lot of underprivileged kids an opportunity to be seen, and they¡¯re not charging them -- which is 100% what I¡¯m about. It¡¯s made a lot of difference for these kids.

¡°A lot of them may never get to our league. But maybe they have an opportunity to be seen, and get to college and have that paid for.¡±

Montgomery appreciates every opportunity to tell his story.

¡°A lot of people want to know how I got to where I am,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a story. You have to have a passion for what you want to do in life, and baseball has been my passion, even after not having the opportunity to make it to the big leagues with these injuries. But I was with a great group with the Dodgers. Even when you weren¡¯t playing, you were learning about life and how to lead people.

¡°I was always helping my teammates and watching those guys make it to the big leagues. They are still my friends today. And as I speak, I tell people, ¡®You can be like me. Or you can be a scout, a photographer, a journalist.¡¯ There are so many avenues that sometimes kids, especially kids of minority representation, don¡¯t understand. My whole thing has been always trying to have inclusion as a part of who I am as a person. It means a lot to me when other people lean in that direction.¡±

Jennifer Ford is the foundation¡¯s executive director. Her husband, Perfect Game founder Jerry Ford, is a board member for Rise 2 Greatness. Montgomery was one of several baseball figures honored at a gala in Las Vegas. Clint Hurdle, former Rockies manager and current special assistant to the general manager, is a past recipient of the organization¡¯s lifetime achievement award.