To pull on the cleats, button the shirt and run out to play in a Major League Baseball game is a dream held by hundreds of thousands of young ballplayers the world over, but 17-year-old right arm pitcher Robinson Smith has an even greater goal. Smith has his sights set on being Australia's first member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Melbourne born and raised, Smith recently signed a six-year international amateur free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He sets off to the Dominican Republic early in February to join the other talented hopefuls freshly gathered by the Pirates organisation. From there, it will be nothing but hard work, with expert coaching honing the skills required to hopefully make it to the big show one day.
Smith's journey began at the Sandringham Royals, where he first took a swing at T-ball as a 4-year-old, following in his big brother's footsteps. He progressed through the years to the age where players first begin to pitch to each other but initially found himself behind the plate, armed with a catcher's mitt.
"I was a catcher. I only picked up pitching at around 13. I was a really good catcher, but the coaches saw my arm and said I should hop on the bump and just throw a couple of innings, and I really enjoyed it there," Smith told ESPN.
His talent on the mound was evident early, and he was soon under the tutelage of American coach Manny Carrion. It's a relationship that continues to this day.
"Manny is great, I've been working with him for around four to five years now, and I've seen some real development working with him. He is an outstanding coach, I have worked a lot on mechanics with him, because we both know that the velocity will come, so we really wanted to get the mechanics right," Smith said.
The gold standard of pitching is to be able to throw a fast ball which tops the 100 mph mark. At just 17, Smith already has been clocked at 95 mph and has the elusive mark set as a development goal.
"The coaches have spoken to me about my fast ball, and they -- by looking at my arm path, my arm speed and how hard I am throwing now -- most of the time they are able to predict how hard I will be throwing in the next two to three years. They are looking at me being at 100 mph, maxing out at around 102 mph, which has become a goal for me," Smith continued.
"My fast ball is good, but I throw a sweeper [a pitch which breaks horizontally across the plate], which is probably my favourite pitch; it has a lot of movement and can make a hitter look a bit silly."
Smith is well aware of the fickle nature of the journey he is setting out on. Injury can be an unavoidable hurdle, one that can curtail or even end the most promising of careers, particularly with pitchers. Potential Tommy John surgery is an ever-present reality. Part of his contract with the Pirates includes the setting aside of enough money to finance a college education, should the worst come to pass.
"Tommy John [surgery] is not a great thing to happen to a pitcher. But it doesn't really worry me. I take good care of my arm, do all the recovery that I need to that will help keep my arm strong and healthy, so that takes any thought of Tommy John out of my mind," Smith revealed.
It's a delicate balancing act for a young pitcher, throwing enough to develop strength and skills while keeping a close eye on workloads and recovery sessions. Still, the amount of dedication and focus required is not something many teenagers can muster. Smith thinks his mother, former Olympic swimmer Nicole Livingstone, had something to do with his motivation and work ethic.
"Definitely, I have always felt the need to fill her shoes. It was definitely a drive for me to want to compete at the same level as she did," Smith admitted.
With baseball returning to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Smith could well join his mother on Australia's esteemed list of Olympians. But it is not clear whether his commitments to the Pirates will prevent him from claiming a spot on the Australia team.
"I'm not sure, at the moment, but it is definitely not my decision at the start. I would love to play for Australia at the 2028 Olympics. It would be amazing, definitely something I would love to do. But ultimately, that is not my decision. It is the Pirates' decision whether they want me to potentially risk injury. Ultimately, they just want to look after me," Smith said.
"Even though we don't have a massive baseball community in Australia, it is still producing a lot of young talent and a lot of hard workers. I have always loved seeing other guys around my age competing and having the same energy as I have."
For now, Smith is focused on doing his best work in the Dominican Republic, but when asked how far he had dared to dream, he opened up.
"The big, big dream that I have always had is being the first Australian Hall of Famer. I know that's not an easy goal to get, but I am definitely ready for the kind of determination needed to reach that level," Smith explained.
Smith's contract with the Pirates marks a very promising start to a long and arduous road, one undertaken by many but completed by relatively few. Smith has all the natural ability and, perhaps most importantly, the inner drive needed to succeed. It is a lofty ambition to covet a place amongst the best of the best in baseball, but if you can't aim high as a 17-year-old, what is the point of dreaming?