COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Standing at a podium under a tent at Doubleday Field on a scorching hot day he will never forget, the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy reflected in his acceptance speech on a career and a life that landed him in Baseball’s Hall of Fame as the J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner.

Shaughnessy, with several Hall of Famers sitting behind him, soaked up the whirlwind weekend that included a reception in his honor Friday on the porch of the Otesaga Hotel. On Saturday, he took part in a Hall of Fame news conference before his induction speech, followed by a parade down Main Street with the new class of Hall of Famers, including Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr.

Shaughnessy spoke about his family, wife Marilou and children Sarah, Kate, and Sam, whom he acknowledged very early in his speech.

“Families of folks who work in baseball understand the travel and irregular hours that the job entails . . . This was not easy for you and your support is ever appreciated,’’ Shaughnessy said.

Shaughnessy spoke on an array of topics, often bringing laughter with his tales of Earl Weaver from his days as a beat reporter in Baltimore, and how he was once traded in Little League.

“Like so many of you,’’ Shaughnessy said, “baseball has provided me with the timeline of my life. First game at Fenway with my dad and brother. Yaz’s rookie year. ’61. Sitting with my sister in Section 27 when Fisk hit the home run. ’75. Meeting my wife in a hotel bar after a rainout in Chicago. 1980. Handing out cigars behind the Fenway batting cage after the birth of a daughter. 1985. Watching my son play nine innings in front of the Green Monster in a college tournament. 2008.

“For me, the ballfields and ballparks themselves are sacred spaces. All of them. Even the Tropicana Dome. I have always loved the idea that my dad is buried in a cemetery which abuts a Little League Field in Pepperell, Mass.

“Baseball connects us to the past and the future. I love the fact that my soon-to-be-born grandchild (thank goodness there’s a hospital in Cooperstown) will someday sit in an obstructed-view seat at ancient Fenway — his or her view practically blocked by the same green pole that blocked the views of my grandfather back in 1912.’’

Shaughnessy’s career began in Baltimore for the Baltimore Evening Sun in 1977.

“Baltimore Sun sports editor Bill Tanton took a chance on me in 1977 and that’s how I found myself . . . 23 years old . . . traveling with, and covering the Orioles. What a time that was. I think I’d only been on an airplane twice. Suddenly, I got to go to Tiger Stadium and Comiskey Park — ancient American League cathedrals I’d only seen on black-and-white television. I carried a portable typewriter and filed my stories at the downtown Western Union office. I remember that the grand old hotel rooms in Cleveland and Milwaukee smelled like smoke. One of the older writers called me ‘the baby-faced assassin.’ ’’

Shaughnessy is known for his tell-it-like-it-is, fearless style. One of his endearing qualities is that he faces the people he criticizes, which is courageous in its own right, unlike the new bloggers or talk show hosts who easily criticize but never have to face the people the next day.

Shaughnessy was born and raised in Groton, Mass, which also is the home of fellow Hall of Famer Peter Gammons, whom he replaced as the Globe’s baseball columnist and writer of the Sunday baseball notes page. Imagine, two Hall of Fame baseball writers from one little town.

“I grew up in a small town in Central Mass. Groton . . . It had apple orchards and paper mills. I was the youngest of five kids and my dad’s ballplaying days were long past when I was growing up . . . A lot of our together time was spent grocery shopping and driving to the dump on Saturdays. Dad would smoke cigars (windows up) and I’d ask him about baseball. He knew I loved baseball and he saved enough S&H Green stamps to get me my first mitt — a Tito Francona model,’’ Shaughnessy said.

He thanked the Globe and its writers and editors and the BBWAA.

“Thank you Ken Nigro, Nick Cafardo, and Bill Madden — three longtime scribes who had so much to do with my place on this stage today,’’ Shaughnessy said. “Thank you Boston Globe, home of the greatest sports page in America, and all the bosses, editors, and peers who make us look good on the page every day.’’

And he shared a moment he will never forget that seemed so appropriate now.

“Thirty-nine years ago in a hotel elevator in Cleveland — my first road trip — the great Brooks Robinson asked me how old I was and told me how much fun I was going to have covering big league baseball,’’ said Shaughnessy, pointing to Robinson sitting behind him. “Brooks Robinson! How many hours of my youth had I spent pretending I was him? Brooks was so right.

“Thank you, players. Thank you, fans. Thank you, Baseball Hall of Fame.’’

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.