Ben Lively

Edward Bennett Lively, born on March 5, 1992, is a celebrated American professional baseball pitcher. Throughout his career, Lively has represented multiple teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), namely the Cleveland Guardians, Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, and Cincinnati Reds. With an international career that includes playing for Samsung Lions in the KBO League, Lively has proven his proficiency on both national and international stages.

Born to Edward and Ginny Lively in Pensacola, Florida, Lively grew up with baseball in his blood. His baseball journey began early at the age of four when he started playing organized baseball in the local Tee-ball league, a year earlier than most due to his prodigious skill and under the guidance of his grandfather, Jim Lively.

On his educational journey, Lively is an alumna of Gulf Breeze High School and the University of Central Florida (UCF). While at UCF, Lively excelled in the university’s baseball team, the UCF Knights, where he showed his skills with a 21-8 win-loss record, 3.06 earned run average, and 226 strikeouts over 244 innings during his three years. Additionally, Lively spent the summer of 2012 playing collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League.

After high school, Lively was initially selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 26th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. However, he chose not to sign, and instead dedicated his focus towards higher education and developing his baseball prowess at UCF. His outstanding college accomplishments attracted the attention of Cincinnati Reds, who picked him in the fourth round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.

Lively made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs, followed by one start with the Dayton Dragons. Despite a win-loss record of 0-4 in his first professional season, Lively stood up for his game, recording a 0.88 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 41 innings. He began his 2014 season with the Bakersfield Blaze and ended it as the top player in Reds’ farm system, following his impressive performance with 13-7 scoreline and a 3.04 ERA.

In the years leading to 2017, Lively had a rollercoaster of successes and transfers. He was traded from the Reds to the Philadelphia Phillies and played a season each for Double-A Reading Fightin Phils and Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He was bestowed with the 2016 Paul Owens Award as the best pitcher in the Phillies’ farm system and made his major league debut in 2017.

Nonetheless, struggling performances in following years led him to be designated for assignment. But not long after, he was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals, who then traded him for cash considerations to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019. Afterward, he left to play for the Samsung Lions in the KBO League.

In his run with the Samsung Lions from 2019 to 2021, Lively had a rollercoaster of good and bad innings. Unfortunately, his time in the KBO League came to an end after being diagnosed with a shoulder injury in 2021.

In 2022, Lively bounced back and signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati Reds, the same team that drafted him in 2013. He spent his year with the Triple-A Louisville Bats and later elected free agency post-season. In November 2022, he again re-signed with the Reds and was assigned to Triple-A Louisville to start the 2023 season. With a strong start to the season, he was selected to the active roster mid-season and made his start against the New York Yankees leading to a career-high of 8 strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

Following an unfortunate low against the Chicago Cubs, he was removed from the 40-man roster by the end of 2023 season but not long after, Lively was back in the major league as he signed a contract with the Cleveland Guardians. Today, with a wealth of experience and a never-back-down attitude, Lively continues to create commanding performances in the baseball field. His journey is a testament to his unwavering dedication and efforts to master the game that he grew up loving.