Ben Lively’s professional baseball career has been slightly odd.
In early December 2014, the Cincinnati Reds, who drafted him in the 4th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft, praised Lively for his magnificent 2014 season with their high-A and double-A affiliates Bakersfield and Pensacola. Lively went a combined 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 151 innings pitched to go with a career high 171 strikeouts. The Reds celebrated Lively by awarding him their Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award, given to the organization’s minor league player of the year.
It was then less than one month later when they traded him to the Phillies in exchange for veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd and cash.