MILWAUKEE -- Brewers hitting coach Al LeBoeuf, the baseball lifer who beat a rare form of blood cancer more than a decade ago before landing his dream job in the Majors at age 64, is facing a new cancer battle.
LeBoeuf, now 65, in his 16th season with the organization and his 35th season as a player or coach in professional baseball, underwent surgery to remove his prostate on Monday and will be away from the Brewers for at least the remainder of their current homestand and the first road trip following the All-Star break. He told players about his pending absence during an emotional meeting last weekend while the team was in Miami.
“We got great news [Monday] that it went about as well as it could,” Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “Hopefully he gets back with us as soon as he can.”
LeBoeuf’s diagnosis came after a PSA test during Spring Training, part of his standard preseason physical exam. It returned some troubling results indicating prostate cancer.
The Brewers won’t have to replace LeBoeuf on the coaching roster while he’s away because they have two other hitting coaches -- Eric Theisen and Connor Dawson. But his guidance will be missed, said second baseman Brice Turang.
“He’s taught me a lot about hitting, but outside the field, he’s taught me about what he’s gone through and the mentality he has,” Turang said. “It’s to enjoy every day. Treat every day like a blessing. There’s a lot of stuff like that, that he’s put into my head. We get to wake up and do this job -- don’t take life for granted. He’s a great human.”
“He has a perspective that not a lot of people do,” Hoskins said. “We can get lost in the daily struggle or triumphs, whatever this game brings us, but having a presence like him is super grounding for us. That’s what we need at the start of every day.”
LeBoeuf developed that perspective during his first cancer battle, which began in May 2013 when he was Triple-A Nashville’s hitting coach. He was golfing with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero and Double-A Huntsville manager Darnell Coles when LeBoeuf felt cramping in his calves on the 16th hole. The next day while throwing batting practice, his big toes went numb. After that, the sensation spread up his legs.
Doctors suspected a nerve injury in his back, but instead found a cancerous spot on his left hip. It was an area that had long given LeBoeuf trouble, the result of a painful plunking at Triple-A Portland in 1985, when LeBoeuf was a promising Phillies prospect. He suffered a terrible bone bruise and was never the same player again.
Over the years, LeBoeuf developed a blood cancer at that spot, which in turn produced a rare neuropathy called POEMS syndrome. If untreated, that condition can be fatal because it spreads through the body to vital organs. LeBoeuf's was contained just below his knees, and also affects his left thumb.
He used leg braces and crutches to get around camp the following Spring Training but eventually recovered fully and resumed full coaching duties. LeBoeuf worked at several different affiliates before settling in at the Triple-A level from 2019 until his promotion to the Major League staff as lead hitting coach in October 2024.
“We know he wants to be here. He loves this game,” Turang said. “At the end of the day, he’s got to take care of himself. We all have his back and we all want what’s best for him. We understand there are more important things than this game. We can’t wait to see him soon.”