Australian infielder Robbie Glendinning is heading to the American Association of Professional Baseball. The Kansas City Monarchs of the professional independent baseball league announced Glendinning’s contract for the 2025 season with an announcement on their official X page on Tuesday.
Glendinning, 29, was born in Perth, Australia, and is a seven-year veteran of the Australian Baseball League. The shortstop is playing the 2024-25 ABL season with the Melbourne Aces, who are in fifth place in this year’s standings. In 26 games, Glendinning is hitting .305 with four home runs and 20 RBI. During the summer of 2024, the former 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates 21st-round draft pick had brief stints with the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol’s Caliente de Durango, Bravos de Leon, and the Olmecas de Tabasco.
Playing for Australia in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Glendinning hit one of Australian baseball history’s most significant home runs. Down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning against Korea, Glendinning hit a mammoth three-run home run over the left field wall at the Tokyo Dome in Japan to put Australia ahead 5-4. They pulled off the upset over Korea with an 8-7 victory.
“It felt so good, and I can’t even explain it, you know?” Glendinning said in a video interview with MLB after the win over Korea. “One of the best swings of my life, for sure.”
In addition to playing for Australia in the 2023 WBC, Glendinning was on the roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12, which took place in Japan and Taiwan from November 13 to 24. Australia finished the tournament 1-4, and Glendinning hit .214 with one home run in a 4-3 loss against Cuba on November 16 at Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan.
Glendinning’s 2025 season with the Monarchs will be his first in the American Association. His familiarity with the area may have driven his decision to sign with Kansas City. Glendinning played one college baseball season at the University of Missouri in 2017.
The Monarchs play their opening game of the 2025 American Association season against the Lincoln Saltdogs on Friday, May 9, at home at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas.
