Photo contributed by Michael Smith / Chattanooga native Michael Smith, a part-time security guard for the Atlanta Braves on game days, shows the 2021 World Series ring he received from the MLB club.ATLANTA – Twenty years. That’s how long Michael Smith’s shiny dome and easy smile have greeted fans, foes and media members at Atlanta Braves home games as a part-time employee of the MLB club specializing in game-day security.
To understand how much he loves such work, the 73-year-old Chattanooga native said of his role: “We are security officers, but we’re also about community relations. We want to make people feel welcome when they come here.”
So there was Smith on Sunday afternoon inside the press box located on Truist Park’s top level, warmly greeting everyone who passed his way. However, unlike any and all of the previous 19 years, when almost everyone he has encountered must show him their tickets or media passes, Smith now has something to show Truist’s visitors: A World Series ring with his last name engraved on one side.
“I take it off when I shower and go to bed,” said the 1967 graduate of Red Bank High School who later got a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a master’s from UT-Knoxville. “Otherwise, I’ve had it on ever since they gave them to us.”
Understand that these aren’t exactly the same 755 diamonds-studded, LED-lit monsters the Braves players received in April for winning the 2021 World Series. A replica of those runs more than $25,000. The originals are rumored to be twice that.