Joe Lefebvre

Joseph Henry Lefebvre

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
• School Eckerd College
• High School Concord (NH) High School
• Debut May 22, 1980
• Final Game May 13, 1986
• Born February 22, 1956 in Concord, NH USA

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Biographical Information

Outfielder Joe Lefebvre had big years in the minors in 1978 and 1979 for the West Haven Yankees. In 1978, he hit .266/~.378/.484 for the second-best slugging percentage in the Eastern League, behind only Jeff Yurak; he also was tied for second in homers (19), tied for the lead in triples (11), was third in walks (76) and scored a league-best 102 runs, 21 more than runner-up Rickey Henderson. In 1979, Lefebvre hit .292/~.395/.520 in his second straight year full-time at AA. One year after leading the league in runs, he tied for the lead in RBI with 107 (even with Rick Lancellotti), was tied for second in triples (10, 2 behind Chico Walker) and among the top 5 in walks (79) and homers (21). He made the league's All-Sar team after being overlooked in 1978.

In the majors he played for the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, and Philadelphia Phillies and did well. In 1980, he became the first player since Roberto Pena, who did so in 1965, to hit home runs in his first two big league games; he was also the first in Yankees history to do so, and the only one until Aaron Judge matched the feat in 2016. He posted an OPS+ of 131 in 1981 and 150 in 1983, but he had limited playing time before a knee injury ended his career.

In 1987, Lefebvre started coaching with the Reading Phillies, and moved up to the Maine Phillies in 1988. He was a coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in 1989. Moving to the New York Yankees' chain he was a coach for the Albany-Colonie Yankees in 1990 and 1993, and was a roving minor league hitting instructor in 1991-1992, and 1994-1995. In 1996, he was the hitting coach for the Phoenix Firebirds. From 1997 to 2001, Lefebvre was the San Francisco Giants' coordinator of minor league hitting. From 2002 to 2007, he was a coach for the Giants. In 2008, Lefebvre becomes "Senior Advisor, Player Personnel" for high school teammate Brian Sabean. In 2011 he was Senior Advisor, Scouting. In 2013 he was named the Giants assistant batting coach.

Related Sites

• "Joe Lefebvre: Clutch Hitter Extraordinaire"