Claire Smith was presented the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, the top honor for a baseball writer, during Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown. Smith was the first full-time female reporter to cover a Major League Baseball beat as well as the first African-American woman and is currently a coordinating editor for ESPN's universal news group, with an emphasis on baseball.
Here is the full text of her speech:
Like a pebble tossed into a pond, the honor of being named the 2017 Spink Award winner sent out the most beautiful ripples, which are now washing up on the shores of Lake Otsego, magically carrying my family and me to the most memorable moment of my career.