No. 76: Greatest Dodgers of All-Time: Jim Lefebvre

Jim Lefebvre

Time with Dodgers: 1965-1972

Stats: .251/.323/.378/.701, 74 HR, 404 RBI, 756 H, 313 R, 104 OPS+

Baseball Reference WAR: 17.2

FanGraphs WAR: 17.4

Combined WAR: 17.3

Jim Lefebvre spent his entire major-league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His time was primarily spent at second base, but he also spent a good chunk of time playing third as well. Overall, he didn’t have numbers that screamed “Most Valuable Player”, but when it’s all said and done, he finds himself in the top 40 of a lot of categories in franchise history.

Lefebvre’s career in Los Angeles got off to a great start, as he was named the 1965 National League Rookie of the Year. He played in 157 games for the Dodgers, hitting .250/.337/.369/.706 with 12 homers and 69 RBI. Lefebvre also had 136 hits and scored 57 runs. His defensive WAR of 1.5 was 10th in the league, so although his offense was average, his stellar defense helped him nab the award. He also finished 21st in MVP voting that year.

The following year in 1966 was easily Lefebvre’s best, as his numbers would be career-highs essentially all across the board. These are the career-bests he had that season:

• 69 runs
• 149 hits
• 23 doubles
• 24 home runs
• 74 runs batted in
• .274 AVG
• .460 SLG
• .793 OPS
• 126 OPS+
• 250 total bases

You get the picture. It was by far his best season. Lefebvre was named to the All-Star team for the first and only time during his eight-year career. He also finished 18th in MVP voting.

Those two seasons would be the peak of his career in Los Angeles, as Lefebvre struggled to remain healthy and productive over his next six seasons. From 1967 through 1972 he’d average only 102 games a season after averaging 155 his first two seasons. With his playing time going down, his numbers decreased as well.

After hitting 24 home runs in 152 games in 1966, Lefebvre would hit only 38 more over his final 613 games. After two seasons of driving in an average of 72 runs, he’d average about 43 RBI a year over the rest of his career.

In November of 1972, Lefebvre was released by the Dodgers. This would be the end of his playing career.

Here’s where Jim Lefebvre ranks in LA Dodgers history:

• 922 games (22nd)
• 756 hits (29th)
• 313 runs (40th)
• 126 doubles (27th)
• 404 RBI (22nd)
• 322 walks (26th)

Get caught up on the rest of the “All-Time Dodgers” lists!

• 100 Greatest Dodgers of All-Time
• 100 Greatest Seasons in Dodgers History