Lee Thomas

Who is Lee Thomas?

James Leroy "Lee" Thomas is a former player and current front-office executive in American Major League Baseball. As general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1988 to 1997, Thomas built the Phillies from a below .500 club into the 1993 champions of the National League, only to see the team revert to its losing ways when later teams were plagued by injuries and the organization had little money to spend.

In his playing days, Thomas was a powerful outfielder and first baseman who batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Originally a member of the New York Yankees organization, Thomas could not break into the Bombers' strong lineup despite putting up good offensive statistics in minor league baseball. He had two at bats for the 1961 Yanks, then was traded to the expansion Los Angeles Angels during the Halos' first American League season. As an everyday player with the Angels and Boston Red Sox, from 1961 to 1965, Thomas topped the 20 home run mark three times, and drove in 104 RBI for the Angels in 1962. The remainder of his major league playing career was spent in the National League as a part-time player and pinch hitter with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. He compiled a career batting average of .255 with 106 home runs. After his major league career, he played in Japan in 1969 for the Nankai Hawks.