This is the second of two feature stories about Cal State Fullerton's 2019 Big West Scholar Athletes. An article about Savahna Costello appeared last week.

By Bill Sheehan

 

It's been a challenging spring for Tanner Bibee.

The Cal State Fullerton pitcher was having a career year when the coronavirus pandemic abruptly ended the 2020 college baseball season. Bibee, a junior, had a 2.73 ERA in 29 2/3 innings with 33 strikeouts and just five walks.

Like other students, he's gotten used to taking classes remotely. And he's been working out daily to stay in baseball shape as he prepares for the Major League amateur draft.

In a cost-cutting move, MLB reportedly will slash its 2020 amateur draft from 40 to five rounds. College juniors who aren't among the 160 players drafted will face this decision: Sign with one of the clubs for a maximum of $20,000 – the cap last year for undrafted players was $125,00 – or return for their senior year.

The 21-year-old Bibee has been getting advice from family and friends. "Basically, people are saying, 'If you get what you want, go. And if you don't get it, stay in school,' " he said.

Besides being the Titans' top professional prospect, Bibee (pronounced BUY-bee) has excelled in the classroom. The communications major has a 3.4 grade point average and has been recognized for his academic and athletic achievements.

Bibee and volleyball player Savahna Costello have been named by the university as Fullerton's 2019 Big West Conference Scholar Athletes. A March ceremony to honor the two was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bibee says he was surprised to receive honor

Fullerton Associate Director of Athletics Meredith Basil emailed him with the news. "I get a lot of spam, so my first thought was, 'Is this real?' " said Bibee, who hails from Mission Viejo. "I wasn't expecting this, so I was pretty surprised."

His mother, Shellie, said Bibee has always balanced his academic and athletic worlds. "He wins a lot of baseball accolades, but education has always been important. He has a real sense of pride in all he does. He always tries to do his best."

"Tanner is the definition of a student-athlete," said Rick Vanderhook, Fullerton baseball's ninth-year head coach. "As hard as he works in baseball, he does the same thing in the classroom. He does things right, and he understands how to get things done."

Bibee considered becoming a business major before choosing communications. "I found communications fits more into my interests," said Bibee, who concentration is public relations.

His favorite class is a feature writing course taught by Anne La Jeunesse, an adjunct professor and former newspaper reporter. "Anne has been super-helpful. It's good to learn from someone who has worked in the field and done the job," he said.

La Jeunesse said Bibee has exhibited a strong creative side in his work. "He has managed to create clever stories while taking the class from home. He wrote one about the impact of the coronavirus on businesses in San Clemente. He brought along a friend who was making a first visit to the city, and they visited an ice cream parlor and some other places."

"Tanner is very disciplined and focused. He has a busy schedule with training and traveling, but he always gets his work in on time and avails himself of extra credit work," she said. "He is a very humble person, not a swaggering guy."

'Bulldog mentality' of Greinke, Buehler admired

Bibee, however, is anything but laid-back on the mound. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound righthander patterns himself after the Houston Astros' Zack Greinke and the Dodgers' Walker Buehler. "They both have that bulldog mentality and attack hitters," he said. "They have a decent amount of pitches and command them all."

When he arrived at Fullerton, Bibee relied on just his fastball, curve and occasional changeup. He had an excellent 56-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio as a freshman but was 3-5 with a 3.86 earned run average as a starter and reliever for the Titans, who won the Big West championship and were 39-24 overall.

Installed as the Titans' Friday night starter as a sophomore, Bibee was 5-7 with a 4.33 ERA on a team that struggled to finish 27-26 overall. He led the Titans in games starts and wins, and he had a team-leading 80 strikeouts against 29 walks.

"Last year's team was better than our record. We could have won more games. Everything went wrong, but we still finished over .500," he said.

After faulty pitching mechanics left him with soreness, Bibee became determined to turn things around. He began to fine-tune his delivery and expand his pitch arsenal in Massachusetts, where he played for Wareham Gateman in the 2019 Cape Cod summer league.

"It was super-cool and unlike any other summer league because of the great talent there. I had never been that far away from home. It was fun to have a different experience other than Southern California," said Bibee, whose teammate Michael Weisberg also pitched in the league.

About the same time, Vanderhook hired Dan Ricabal as the new Titans pitching coach. A Fullerton grad, Ricabal had coached at the community college and Division 1 levels as well as in the Angels' minor league system.

"I learned how to pitch better in the summer and cleaned up my mechanics, then Dan really helped me develop mentally and physically. Mix those things together and it was like a perfect storm," said Bibee, who uses a three-quarters delivery.

Ricabal was impressed by Bibee's mindset. "When he wakes up in the morning, he has a plan to win that day. He's self-motivated and is able to shift gears from being an athlete to an academic scholar. He pays attention to details, and his routines are extremely consistent."

ICYMI: Relive every one of @TBibee28's career high 11 strikeouts, as he helped the Titans clinch the Stanford Regional last night!#RoadtoOmaha pic.twitter.com/SnHtO29Faq

— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) June 5, 2018

Developing a five-pitch repertoire and refining mechanics

Working with Ricabal, Bibee expanded his pitching repertoire, mixing a two- and four-seam fastball clocked at 93-94 mph with a curve, changeup and slider. And he refined his mechanics, used his legs more and improved the location of his pitches.

"My goal is to screw with the hitters' minds by mixing my pitches," Bibee said. "And Coach Ricabal and I also focused on holding runners on. When I'm in stretch position, my goal is to mess with the base runners up by varying my timing, holding the ball shorter or longer, like a carousel."

While Fullerton finished 4-12 In the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, Bibee's 1-3 record belied what was his finest stretch of pitching as a Titan.

In the Titans' season-opener 7-1 win at Stanford, he gave up one run and six hits over six innings while striking out nine and allowing no walks. In his next start, a 1-0 loss to visiting Tulane, Bibee allowed one run and six hits over 8 1/3 innings while striking out nine.

He pitched a rare complete game against the University of San Francisco, giving up three runs and seven hits while striking out nine. But the Titans lost, 3-1. And in a 6-1 loss to Texas in Austin, he retired 16 consecutive batters and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before being tagged with the loss.

The premature ending to the season on March 12 denied the Titans a chance to reverse their dismal start. "I thought we would start turning things around that weekend against Xavier," Bibee said.

His breakout season wasn't lost on Ricabal, the pitching coach. "He was fantastic despite the team's lack of run support. With 'Bibees' as our Friday night starter, we knew we had a good chance to win. We would put him up against any other pitcher in the nation."

T3 | Nine up, nine down for the Green Wave as @TBibee28 has five strikeouts through three innings #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/BmI4KeYis4

— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) February 22, 2020

Battery mate applauds his competitiveness

Titans catcher Austin Schell praised Bibee's competitive nature. "He puts it all on the line for his teammates, and he is one of the most unselfish players on our team.

"It's a lot easier catching him than other pitchers. He has command of his pitches and can get a strikeout any time. His curveball is his wipeout pitch. I love watching him compete, and I trust him," said Schell, a junior from Irvine.

Bibee is now focused on keeping his skills sharp while he awaits the Major League Baseball draft, which reportedly will be held June 10. D1Baseball.com ranks him as the No. 7 junior pitcher in the country.

"The training is going well. I'm just working out with some buddies," said Bibee, who practices at schools and Little League fields. He does twice-a-week bullpen throwing to Schell as well as long-toss and light catching. He also lifts weight five times a week in his garage and does sprint and distance running twice a week.

He is eligible to return to Fullerton not only for his senior year but also for a fifth season after the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for spring-sport student-athletes because of the coronavirus shutdown. But it's obvious he has his sights set on a professional career.

Bibee said he anticipated the draft would be cut to five rounds. "I'm not surprised, but this sucks for a lot of people. More than 1,200 players will go undrafted, and it's going to be a zoo. The opportunity, money and ability to get drafted will not be as good for the players," said Bibee, who has talked with representatives from a few Major League teams.

Being among the 160 players drafted, whose ranks include compensatory picks, would guarantee Bibee more leverage and more money. If he is undrafted, he would be eligible to sign a contract with any of the 30 MLB teams but at a lower salary.

Shellie Bibee said her son is in a good position despite the uncertainties. "We have tried to plan for all of the possible scenarios. He could always wait until next year. Maybe he will stay and maybe he won't."

Ricabal is convinced Bibee can play to the highest level. "With his work ethic and ability, the sky is the limit. Nothing tells me he won't be in a rotation in the big leagues some day."

If he does sign a profession contract this summer, Bibee said he'll return to Fullerton as soon as possible to complete his communications degree.

Competed in youth baseball and soccer

Bibee began playing Tee-Ball at age 4. After Little League, he advanced to travel ball and played five years with the Irvine-based Baseball West Coast club. He also competed as a center-defender in youth soccer but gave it up at age 13.

He was a three-year varsity performer at Mission Viejo High School, where he was an All-CIF Division 1 selection as a senior. In addition to pitching, he played first base and hit over .300. The team won the Sea View League baseball championship in his junior year.

His father Scott helped coach his son in Little League and at Mission Viejo High School, where his is a volunteer pitching coach. Scott was a pitcher too – good enough to be drafted out of high school in 1988 by the Seattle Mariners. While Scott's professional career was brief, he passed on to his son the importance of pitching fundamentals and pin-point accuracy.

"He's the reason why I'm the pitcher I am today," Bibee said. "My father gave me the mindset. He helped me develop all my pitches, and he pushed me to work hard and get better."

Bibee considered attending UC Irvine and Long Beach State before choosing Fullerton. "It had the best baseball history and had developed the most people in the Major League," he said. "And I liked the academics."

In his three years at Fullerton, his most important starts to date occurred during the team's 2018 post-season run in the NCAA tournament. Bibee gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to get the win as Fullerton beat Stanford, 5-2, to clinch the four-team Stanford Regional. Eight days later, he pitched four innings and received a no-decision in the Titans' 10-inning, 6-5 loss to Washington in the Super Regional finale at Goodwin Field.

Earlier that season in his first college start, Bibee failed to get out of the first inning in a 6-5 loss at Stanford. "Tanner thought he could blow hitters away in that game. But he learned how to be poised. And the second time he faced Stanford, he threw the curve, and everything worked well," said Vanderhook, the Fullerton head coach.

"It definitely was a revenge game for me at the regional," said Bibee. "My attitude was, 'It couldn't get any worse.' I lifted it off my shoulder, went out there and did my thing. All the puzzle pieces fit."

Against Washington, he gave up two runs and six hits in four innings. Washington scored one run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings and two runs in the 10th to win it.

"That loss hurt a ton, but it was still a great game. Washington was a hell of a team and fought as much if not more than we did. Everything came together for them."

At Mission Viejo High School, Tanner Bibee's team won the Sea View League baseball championship during his junior year. He was an All-CIF Division 1 selection as a senior.

First recipient of Kargenian Scholarship

Last year, Bibee and second baseman Zach Lew were named as the inaugural recipients of the Bob Kargenian Scholarship. Kargenian, the founder and president of Orange-based TABR Capital Management, established a $200,000 endowment to help fund athletic scholarships and boost Fullerton's baseball budget. The honorees must be returning players, have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and display "Titan character."

Bibee has participated in the baseball team's annual free clinic for the Miracle League of Northern Orange County. The event gives children and adults with mental and physical disabilities the chance to play baseball. Unfortunately, the pandemic scrubbed this year's clinic

Off the diamond, Bibee enjoys recreational sports such as football, basketball and soccer and spending time with his family. His father owns Ultimate Auto Glass, an automotive glass service company in Mission Viejo. His mother is the office manager at Prestige Collision South in San Juan Capistrano, a vehicle collision repair facility.

He has two older brothers, Cameron and Mason. Both played sports at Capistrano Valley High School. Carmeron was on the soccer team and Mason ran cross-country.

"We try to make it to all Tanner's baseball games," said Shellie. "We have always supported Titan baseball. We used to take our sons to Fullerton games when they were kids."

One of Bibee's chief strengths is that he makes everyone around him better," said Brady Barcellos, a teammate and fellow pitcher.

Last fall, Barcellos lived with Bibee and three others in a house in Placentia. "My room was near the stairs. Tanner would bang on my door at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesday because he wanted me to go lift weights with him on campus. The first time he did, I yelled back at him. But I got up and went to the gym," said Barcellos, a communications major from Fresno who will graduate this spring and work for his family's almond and grape farming operations.

"Anyone can latch onto and follow his lead. He is always going to do things right. He stuck to his daily routine. That's what made him so successful," said Barcellos.