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The most interesting things about Knight, though, are not accessible on his baseball-reference.com page. I had the opportunity to speak with him on June 6 in Buffalo for the video piece embedded below, and thought our discussion was interesting enough to merit reprinting in full.

The part about playing in Japan was what got me. I always forget the myriad factors that might affect the course of a baseball career.

Ted Berg: How much do you follow the club from this level?

Brandon Knight: Oh, Plenty. We get SNY on the cable here. So even when our games are going on, the guys are in there checking things out, and we are always interested to see how they are doing up there, whether they're winning or losing. Of course, when you are at this level, you're an injury away and sometimes things like that happen. Like just recently when Putz was going to go get an MRI, all of a sudden your ears get perked up a little bit, and you're like, 'OK, maybe somebody is going to get a call here.'

TB: So does it change the atmosphere around here?

BK: No, not really. I mean, you are still playing. You got to go out and play and try to win ballgames here. You can't really concern yourself, or at least you shouldn't concern yourself too much about when it's going to happen. All you can do is take care of the stuff that's on the field, and hopefully you will get that call.

TB: And how is Buffalo compared to New Orleans?

BK: Colder. A lot colder. I actually like it. To me, it's my kind of town. It's big enough, yet not too big. I've played here before when I was with Columbus, and the fans are always good. Now that it is starting to warm up, they are starting to come out a little bit more. I definitely think it is a good town for baseball.

TB: You represented the U.S. for the Olympic team -- how did your experience pitching in China compare to and affect your experience here?

BK: It is just a bonus, a huge bonus. To me, it is the highlight of my career. The only thing that I can think of that would be bigger than playing in the Olympics would be maybe winning a World Series or something like that. To have that uniform, that's obviously something really special and just something that I really didn't expect to happen. Like I said, it's definitely a bonus, but what I am trying to do here is get to the big leagues, and that is why I am here.

TB: And how does Buffalo compare to Beijing?

BK: Again, it's colder. Colder and a lot less smog, that's for sure. I'd definitely like to stick around Buffalo, and stick around the States in general. I think China was a bit much for me with the smog and just the overall hectic lifestyle that they have going on there. I played in Japan for three years, and I loved it there. It was just a little bit more organized, I think, in Japan. Maybe it was just because Beijing was such a mess because the Olympics were there. There was so much hubbub; there were so many things going on. I'll take the relatively slow lifestyle in Buffalo any day.

TB: Is there always a temptation for players in the high levels of the Minors to make that trip to Japan?

BK: Oh, absolutely. If you talk to probably half the guys on this team -- and pretty much any Triple-A team -- guys are getting closer to 30. So if that opportunity to go to Japan comes up, they're usually champing at the bit to do it.

TB: And what is the motivation?

BK: Money, absolutely. It really is a good way to make a living. The contacts over there are guaranteed. If you do well, you can certainly make a lot of money, and quickly. In the States, you have to put your three years in before you are even arbitration eligible and the whole process takes a lot longer. If you have a good year in Japan, you very well could be getting a two-year deal for upwards of three, four or five million dollars. That's definitely the motivation there: quick, easy money. Well, I wouldn't say easy. The baseball is really good over there.

TB: And the motivation to stay here is, of course ...

BK: To be in the big leagues, in your home. That's your goal when you first start playing the game, you want to have a long big league career, but at some point you sometimes have to think to yourself, OK, what is going to be the best way to provide for my family, and I think for a lot of these guys, that's their motivation. For me, that was definitely it.