Spencer Bivens (born June 28, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career

Bivens played high school baseball at

State College Area High School State College Area High School, colloquially known as "State High," is a public high school in State College, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the only public high school in the State College Area School District and is within walking dista ...

in his hometown of

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...

. After graduating, Bivens enrolled in Louisburg College, pitching to a 3.14 ERA as a sophomore in 2014. He transferred to

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

in 2015, his dream school from growing up. Before he could pitch for their baseball team, he failed a drug test, causing him to lose his spot on the team. Two years later he transferred to

Rogers State University Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma, United States. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages, from its founda ...

. Bivens would pitch the next two seasons for the team, recording a 3.21 ERA in 27 appearances. Following the conclusion of his senior season, he played for a time with the Lemont Ducks of the Centre County Baseball League, an amateur league near State College.

Professional career

Lions de Savigny-sur-Orge

Bivens was not selected in the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

, and signed with the of the Division Élite, a French independent league. In 75 innings pitched, he recorded a 2.51 ERA. His performance in the French League earned him the nickname “Mr. Belvedere”, both a nod to the vodka brand as well as the acclaimed 1980s sitcom starring

Bob Uecker Robert George Uecker ( ; January 26, 1934 – January 16, 2025) was an American professional baseball catcher and sportscaster who served as the play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) for 54 seasons. He ...

Steel City Slammin' Sammies

On February 18, 2020, Bivens signed with the Kotlářka Praha of the Czech Baseball Extraliga. However, he was unable to play for the team after their season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Bivens later signed with the Steel City Slammin' Sammies of the newly–formed Washington League. In 6 games (3 starts), he posted a 3–2 record and 3.74 ERA with 19 strikeouts across innings pitched.

Washington Wild Things

On October 13, 2020, Bivens signed with the Washington Wild Things of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. In nine appearances for Washington, he struggled to a 7.24 ERA with 10 strikeouts across innings pitched. On July 7, 2021, Bivens was released by the Wild Things.

West Virginia Power

On July 8, 2021, Bivens signed with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a MLB Partner League, partner league ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In three contests, he posted a 10.50 ERA with seven strikeouts across six innings of work.

Gastonia Honey Hunters

On July 19, 2021, Bivens was traded to the

Gastonia Honey Hunters The Gastonia Honey Hunters were a professional baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina. They played in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball, at CaroMont Health Pa ...

of the

in exchange for Alexis Candelario. In 14 starts for Gastonia, he compiled a 4–8 record and 7.26 ERA with 62 strikeouts across innings pitched. In 2022, Bivens made three scoreless appearances for the Honey Hunters, striking out nine across innings.

San Francisco Giants

On May 25, 2022, Bivens signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He split the remainder of the season between the Single–A

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants g ...

and Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. In 27 appearances for the two affiliates, Bivens accumulated a 3.95 ERA with 48 strikeouts across innings. Bivens began the 2023 season with the High–A

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

, and was promoted to the Double–A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

after six games. In 27 appearances for Richmond, he registered a 5–4 record and 3.69 ERA with 72 strikeouts across 78 innings pitched. Bivens was invited to major league

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2024. He began the year with Triple–A Sacramento, recording a 2.81 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 8 saves across 21 games. Bivens was named the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

pitcher of the month for the month of May. On June 16, 2024, Bivens was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bivens, Spencer 1994 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in France Baseball players from Virginia Beach, Virginia Eugene Emeralds players Gastonia Honey Hunters players Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Pennsylvania State University alumni Richmond Flying Squirrels players Rogers State Hillcats baseball players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Scottsdale Scorpions players State College Area High School alumni Tomateros de Culiacán players Washington Wild Things players West Virginia Power players African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico