James Kenneth Lefebvre ( ; born January 7, 1942) is an American former professional infielder, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He won the National League Rookie of the Year in 1965 with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team won the World Series. He started in the MLB All-Star Game the following season.
Lefebvre was the manager of the Seattle Mariners from 1989 to 1991, the Chicago Cubs in 1992 and 1993, and the Milwaukee Brewers in part of 1999. He was a coach for six MLB teams.
Lefebvre was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1962. He 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. That season, he was part of an infield for the Dodgers that consisted of four players who were switch hitters. The others were Jim Gilliam, Wes Parker, and Maury Wills. In 1966, Lefebvre batted .274 with 24 home runs and 74 RBI in 152 games. He also started at second base in the MLB All-Star Game. He later played for the Lotte Orions in Nippon Professional Baseball.
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 and a Japan Series with the 1974 Lotte Orions.
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, Seattle won 77 games and drew over 1.5 million in home attendance at the Kingdome. In 1991, 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 third base coach Bill Plummer. With Seattle, Lefebvre had a record of 233 wins and 253 losses. Lefebvre was soon hired by the Chicago Cubs in November and led them during the 1992 and 1993 seasons; he was released again after a posting a winning record, Chicago was in the 1993 season. With the Milwaukee Brewers, he was the interim manager for the final seven weeks of the
In addition to managing, Lefebvre was a coach for the Dodgers, Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres. He managed the China national baseball team in 2005, the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and 2008 Olympics.
Lefebvre had roles on several television shows including Gilligan's Island and Batman. His role in Batman was of a henchman for the Riddler. He is also a spokesman for Vemma vitamin supplements.
Lefebvre first married Jean Bakke from Waterford, Wisconsin, and they had their son, Ryan, when Lefebvre was playing baseball in Japan. Ryan is the a play-by-play announcer for the Kansas City Royals. Lefebvre has a daughter, Brittany, who has worked in Christian motion pictures, and two other children, .