He pitched for State High and the Lemont Ducks. Then he reached the MLB — after unique journey

As a child, Spencer Bivens had always dreamed of playing a sport for Penn State. Whether it was baseball, basketball or football, he was ready to participate in whatever he could to be a Nittany Lion.

But that never came to fruition and, in his 20s, his childhood hopes began to haunt him when he’d sleep. Those dreams seemed innocent enough — of getting a play call or making a catch during a White Out — but it was enough to keep it on his mind because, to him, he cost himself that opportunity.

Bivens was set to join Penn State baseball in 2015, but he failed a drug test after testing positive for marijuana and that was it. He was kicked off the team and his dream was gone.

Even now, the frustration in his voice is still evident for the mistake he made then.

“I have to live with that for the rest of my life,” Bivens said, his voice trailing off.

But a decade later, Bivens has made the changes and done the work. Sure, he may never have pitched for the Nittany Lions or caught any touchdowns in Beaver Stadium, but he has struck out two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani — twice.

That’s because Bivens — who grew up in State College and played at State High — took a long, arduous path to make it to the major leagues at 29 years old and pitch for the San Francisco Giants, in some way atoning for the mistake he made a decade ago and fulfilling the hopes of the people who love him most.

Start of a lifelong passion

Bivens didn’t always love baseball, but he did always love sports. He played whatever he could, whenever he could as a child, and that included games of Wiffle Ball with his neighbors across the street. The Walls family loved baseball, and John — the patriarch of the bunch — was a coach.

He was the one whom Bivens’ mom, Caran Aikens, credits for getting him to try the sport.

“John invited him to baseball practice,” Aikens said about her then-8-year-old son. “He wasn’t sure he liked it, but John talked him into trying it again. So the next time they had practice, we went and it’s like a light turned on. After that he really was hooked.”

One thing led to the next and soon enough Bivens was playing competitively in Little League and showing his talent. And while those dreams of being a Nittany Lion remained, there were others that began to creep into the picture.

No moment in Bivens’ childhood may have been more foreshadowing to his bright future than his trip to Los Angeles with his mother. Aikens estimated that she and her son made the trip when he was about 10 years old — an age she jokes is right on the precipice of it not being cool to go on vacation with your mom anymore.

Aikens, a single mother, recalled driving along the interstate with her son and the joyous moments they shared — like when she flipped off a driver who was far too aggressive, something she said made Bivens laugh so hard that he could barely speak.

The vacation hit a crescendo with a surprise visit to Dodger Stadium, set up by Aikens’ friend who worked for the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Bivens was overjoyed when he realized they were driving into Chavez Ravine to see the stadium so many legends of the sport have called home.

The tour took them into the lobby to see all of the Dodger greats that have graced the field over the years and eventually down to the field.

Bivens pretended to throw pitches from behind the mound and crashed into the wall to make imaginary catches as Aikens chased him around to take photos.

Eventually he took a seat in the dugout — where he looked right at home.

“He puts his arms up on the back of the bench like he’s been there the whole time,” Aikens said. “It’s one of my favorite pictures.”

Working toward the majors

Bivens wasn’t the only talent at State High by the time he reached the high school. He and Saige Jenco — who went on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization as a minor leaguer — both had the ability to take their baseball careers to the next level, but the drive to get where he is now wasn’t always there for Bivens.

Sometimes it took an extra push to get him to put more effort in — especially when it came to the weight room and taking care of his body, according to Jenco — and even then, it didn’t always go how his motivators wanted it to. It wasn’t just about lifting, either, for Bivens. It was also about taking care of himself after he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child.

“I was consistent with making sure he was taking care of his body with his diabetes and things like that and staying active in the gym,” Jenco said. “The biggest thing was just trying to help him understand that it is a long journey.”

“He was just always in my corner,” Bivens said, “sometimes mad at me because I wasn’t doing enough.”

It wasn’t just Jenco pushing him, either. Troy Allen — who was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and is a baseball trainer — began working with Bivens shortly after Allen moved to town in the spring of 2012. Allen connected with Bivens through his brother, former Penn State men’s basketball player Brian Allen, who knew Bivens and Aikens.

After working with him, Allen knew what he could become early on. He had the athletic ability and arm talent to make baseball a career, and Allen helped him take the next step as a pitcher.

That wasn’t just about his work on the mound — it was about doing the weight room work Jenco had been encouraging. A few years ago, Allen was the right person to convince him to make the changes necessary to get what he wanted.

“Troy has been just impossible to describe as far as his role,” Aikens said. “He was a coach, he was a mentor, he’s a friend, he’s a guy who has done it. All of the above. He was the one who encouraged Spencer to put some weight on.”

That would ultimately be one of the final steps in the journey. A journey that started at junior college and continued with a failed drug test, then took him to Division II Rogers State, France and independent league stops in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina and even a brief period with the Lemont Ducks of the Centre County Baseball League.

Bivens had exhausted almost all options in search of a major league career.

But it was those last tweaks that pushed him over the edge, gaining enough velocity and movement on his sinker to receive a call to join the Giants organization in 2022. He then earned a call-up in June to join the big leagues, where he pitched 17 innings with a 2.65 ERA.

Finding peace

But that doesn’t mean the call to the majors — or striking out Ohtani — is the end for Bivens. The journey required too much effort, and occasionally too much frustration, for it to be the end.

And there was certainly frustration. Not playing at Penn State may not seem like a big deal, especially for someone who has pitched in the big leagues, but it’s something he can’t let go.

Between the frustrations of that one mistake to the emotions of traveling abroad alone to the feeling on the nights he couldn’t sleep and would instead go throw at the gym, there are plenty of reasons for Bivens to feel emotional — not just about Penn State — but about all of this .

Those feelings had become pent up, building along that decade-long path of frustrating nights and long days. So when he did strike Ohtani out for a second time in Oracle Park on June 30, he finally let it all out, pumping his fist and bouncing off the mound.

“I’m trying to compete against the best guy and prove that I’m where I’m supposed to be,” Bivens said. “(It was) just total emotion. Ten years worth of it. To be able to have that moment was really special.”

Bivens should feel that way. He has already beaten the odds to get where he is now. He may have been sent down to Giants’ Triple-A team a week before the All-Star Break, but he remains on the 40-man roster, ready to be called up to a team that is only a few games out of a spot in the postseason.

But he still says there’s a part of what happened at Penn State he can’t let go.

Bivens has put the effort in to atone for the mistake he still hangs on to. He worked out with the Penn State baseball pitching staff a couple years ago — where he spoke to the group about what happened, giving him some of the closure he needed.

And while that may feel like a partial resolution for him, there is only one outcome that will allow him to sleep completely sound at night.

“I will feel better when I am able to take care of my mom,” Bivens said. “I’m never gonna get over not playing football or any of that stuff, but I am at peace with the Penn State situation and I can live with it.

“But there’s more to be done.”

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