Hello. My name is Claire Smith. I am a proud member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and have written about sports for over 25 years.

I started working in the newspaper industry in the mid-70s. Stops have included The Philadelphia Bulletin, The Hartford Courant, The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer and, for over 20 years, the beat was Major League Baseball. In that time, I was honored to be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by both The Courant and The Times for my baseball coverage, just as it was my privilege to be given Pioneer awards by both the National Association of Black Journalists and the Association for Women in Sports Media.

One of my proudest accomplishments was being able to help Don Baylor write his autobiography, "Don Baylor: Nothing But The Truth, a Baseball Life." And what a privilge it has been to participate in the gathering of oral histories as part of a project founded by former Commissioner Fay Vincent for the benefit of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.

Don and Fay are but two of the truly good people I have met throughout a wondrous journey through the Summer Game.

Please be my guest as the journey continues.