Ryan Lefebvre (; born February 12, 1971) is an American sportscaster, best known as a

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

announcer for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

since 1999. In 2008, he became the primary announcer for Royals' television broadcasts on

Bally Sports Kansas City Bally Sports Kansas City (BSKC) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts coverage of professional, collegiate, and high school sports events both wi ...

. Lefebvre also provides play-by-play on the Royals Radio Network for some of the games that aren't covered on television, relieving longtime Royals announcer Denny Matthews. Since the 2012 season, he has called most games on radio when

Steve Physioc Steve Physioc () is a retired American sportscaster who has called play-by-play for various baseball, basketball, and football teams. He retired while working with the Kansas City Royals, who he had worked with since February of 2012. Early life ...

does the play-by-play on TV. Lefebvre was named Most Valuable Player for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big T ...

in 1993, and made first-team All Big Ten in 1991 and 1993 as an outfielder. In 1992, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

and was named a league all-star. Lefebvre spent one season in the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

minor league system with the

Watertown Indians Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. Lefebvre had also broadcast TV and cable for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

from 1995 to 1998. He is the son of former

player and manager

Jim Lefebvre James Kenneth Lefebvre ( ; born January 7, 1942) is a former major league baseball player, coach, and manager. An infielder, he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1962. Baseball career Playing career Lefebvre was th ...

. In early 2006, Lefebvre made public his struggle with depressive illness. Lefebvre also wrote a book detailing his experiences, titled ''The Shame of Me: One Man's Journey to Depression and Back''. Ryan Lefebvre has spoken about the importance of his Catholic faith in overcoming depression and gaining a renewed perspective on life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefebvre, Ryan 1971 births Living people American Roman Catholics American sports announcers Falmouth Commodores players Kansas City Royals announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players Minnesota Twins announcers Sportspeople from Los Angeles