var dataHash = {
blurb: 'When former Major League manager Jim Lefebvre received a phone call three years ago asking him to manage a team located half a world away, in a country where table tennis was far more popular than baseball, he needed some time to think about it.',
source: 'MLB.com',
date: '2006-01-07T10:00:00-0500',
byline: 'Jim Street',
top_story_links: [{
        media_type: 'links',
        url: '/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/index.jsp',
        alt_headline: 'World Baseball Classic home'
        },{
        media_type: 'links',
        url: '/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/tickets.jsp',
        alt_headline: 'Get WBC tickets'
        },{
        media_type: 'links',
        url: '/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/schedule.jsp',
        alt_headline: 'WBC schedule'
        }],
body: 'When former Major League manager Jim Lefebvre received a phone call three years ago asking him to manage a team located half a world away, in a country where table tennis was far more popular than baseball, he needed some time to think about it. <p /> After checking his schedule and discussing the opportunity with his family, Lefebvre accepted the challenge of teaching the fundamentals of the game in China, where the playing conditions are less than ideal and the talent pool is limited -- even with 1.3 billion residents. <p /> When he looks to center field and watches Sun Ling Feng chase a line drive, it might bring back memories of 1989, when Lefebvre saw a 19-year-old rookie named Ken Griffey Jr., for the first time and became Junior\'s first Major League manager that season. <p /> While Lefebvre hasn\'t found a player in China that he can compare to Junior, he has discovered that there is an intense desire to learn the game, get better at it, and eventually make that country a major participant in worldwide events like the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March. <p /> The WBC is another step along the way to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. <p /> "This is going to be our Olympic team and the [WBC] tournament will give us a better idea of where we are," Lefebvre said. "It will be a measuring stick to see where we need to get better." <p /> Now 63 and living in Scottsdale, Ariz., Lefebvre was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1965 with the Dodgers, compiled a .251 batting average in eight MLB seasons, was named to the NL All-Star team in 1966 and has been a renowned hitting instructor for many years. He also played in Japan, managed the Mariners to their first winning season in 1990, and also skippered the Cubs and the Brewers. <p /> His reputation and international experience led to Lefebvre being selected to manage the China National Team in 2002. <p /><p>