James Kenneth Lefebvre ( ; born January 7, 1942) is an American former professional

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, coach, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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 was signed by the

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

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1962.

Baseball career

Playing career

Lefebvre was the 1965 National League Rookie of the Year; he hit .250 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI in 157 games, helping the Dodgers win the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. In 1965, he was part of an infield for the Dodgers that consisted of four players who were

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

s. The others were Jim Gilliam, Wes Parker, and

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1959 to 1972, most prominently as an integral member of the Los Ange ...

. In 1966, Lefebvre batted .274 with 24 home runs and 74 RBI in 152 games. He also started at

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

in the 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Lefebvre also played four seasons in Japan, from 1973 until 1976, for the Lotte Orions. Lefebvre became only the second player, after Johnny Logan, to have won a World Series (1965 Dodgers) and a

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

with the 1974 Lotte Orions. He was a big-league manager from 1989 to 1993, and briefly again in 1999, and was formerly the hitting coach with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Managerial and coaching career

Lefebvre was first hired as a major league manager by the Seattle Mariners in November 1988, with a two-year contract at $150,000 annually, with incentives and a team option for a third year. In his second season in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, Seattle won 77 games and drew over 1.5 million in home attendance at the

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...

. In

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, the Mariners posted their first-ever winning record at and drew over 2.1 million, but Lefebvre's contract was not extended; he was succeeded by assistant coach

Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (March 21, 1947 – March 12, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher in 1968 and then from 1970 to 1978, most notably as a ...

. Lefebvre finished with a record of 233 wins and 253 losses. Lefebvre was soon hired by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in November, and led them during the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

seasons; he was released again after a posting a winning record, Chicago was in the 1993 season. With the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, he was the interim manager for the final seven weeks of the In addition to managing, Lefebvre has spent time coaching in the Dodgers,

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 ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, and

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

organizations. He coached the China National Baseball Team (

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

) in 2005, the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and 2008 Olympics.

Managerial record

Outside of baseball

Lefebvre had roles on several television shows including ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'' and ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

''. His role in ''Batman'' was of a henchman for the

Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in O ...

. He is also a spokesman for Vemma vitamin supplements.

Personal life

Lefebvre first married Jean Bakke from Waterford, WI and they had their son, Ryan, when Lefebvre was playing baseball in Japan after he was with the Dodgers, where he was rookie of the year in 1965. Lefebvre has a daughter, Brittany, who is currently working in Christian motion pictures, and two other children, Bryce and Brianna Lefebvre. His son, Ryan, is the lead play-by-play announcer for the Royals on FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City.

References

External links

ArmchairGM
* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefebvre, Jim 1942 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds coaches Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Los Angeles Dodgers players Chicago Cubs managers Lotte Orions players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Baseball players from Inglewood, California Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Brewers coaches Milwaukee Brewers managers Minor league baseball managers National League All-Stars Oakland Athletics coaches Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Seattle Mariners managers San Francisco Giants coaches San Francisco Giants executives Reno Silver Sox players Salem Dodgers players Spokane Indians players Morningside High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen