Chasing a major league dream 16,000 kilometres from home

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He lived in a tropical Caribbean nation for the past year, but Melbourne teenager Robinson Smith wasn’t there to laze on the beach or go clubbing.

Instead, the 17-year-old spent most of 2025 training alongside some of the world’s best young baseball players, in the Dominican Republic.

Robinson Smith at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball academy near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with his mother, former Olympic swimmer Nicole Livingstone, and sister Ella Smith.

Hoping to one day play major league baseball in the United States, Robinson joined the Pittsburgh Pirates development squad in January as a pitcher, signing a six-year contract.

Since then, home has been the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking nation 16,000 kilometres from Melbourne and in a time zone 15 hours behind.

Named after African-American baseball icon Jackie Robinson, the teen says he passed his spare time with friends, heading out to get fried chicken or pizza but otherwise going out only occasionally.

Sharing a room with three others at the training academy, players spent hours each day in the gym.

Robinson pictured training in Sandringham on the day he signed his Pittsburgh Pirates contract in January 2025.

From April to August, Robinson played baseball games, either against fellow Pirates or development squad players from other teams such as the Baltimore Orioles or Boston Red Sox.

There was a fair bit of downtime, he said. “Hanging out in our rooms, a lot of the guys play video games. I’ve been watching a lot of games on Netflix.”

Only a few recruits speak English, but Robinson says his Spanish is improving.

The son of Australian swimming legend Nicole Livingstone, he is one of four Victorians The Age is profiling for a Living Abroad summer series on locals who spent 2025 far from home.

Robinson pitches in his first game in the Dominican Republic.

The teen says the things he missed the most during his time overseas were his friends, family and home-made food.

As he was growing up, his father, Marty Smith, played “a fair bit of baseball” and Robinson started playing as soon as he could walk. He later joined the Sandringham Royals baseball team in Melbourne.

In 2024, having left school in year 11, Robinson spent seven months in Florida training with American coach Manny Carrion before making the move to the Dominican Republic this year.

Speaking with his parents by video call each day, Robinson says he took inspiration from his mother, who competed in three Olympic Games, winning one silver and two bronze medals.

Robinson Smith at Pirate City baseball centre in Bradenton, Florida, where he will be based from January.

Livingstone advised him not to let small things affect him and to accept that there are challenges, he says.

“She has gone through the exact same stuff that I have, travelling all over the world for the great success of her career.”

Having had visits from his dad, mum and sister Ella, Robinson is back in Australia for a summer break and preparing for next year, which will begin with a move to a Pirates training centre in Florida in January.

In early January he will report to the Pirates’ spring training and minor league centre in Bradenton, Florida, but he doesn’t yet know for how long. “It’s a process, and it’s however long the coaches think I need to stay there,” he said.

He sees these overseas stints as character building and a great opportunity.

“Meeting a lot of guys who have grown up wanting the same thing as me, and who have the same dream as me, to get to the top, is pretty awesome.”