Claire Smith's long, groundbreaking journey in baseball made a stop Saturday in Cooperstown, New York, where she was honored with the prestigious J.G. Taylor Spink Award as part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction weekend.
The Spink award is presented annually to a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing."
Smith is the first woman to work a regular beat in the majors and broke grounds in the profession as an African-American. She called the honor "the most memorable moment" of her career.
During her speech Saturday, Smith recalled her past few months, since the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted her the 2017 Spink winner.