Former Philadelphia Phillies general manager Lee Thomas of Peoria, Illinois passed away at the age of 86 on Wednesday according to the Associated Press. Thomas was the Phillies general manager from 1988 to 1997.
World Series Appearance as GM
During his decade as the Phillies general manager, Thomas guided Philadelphia to the 1993 World Series. However, Philadelphia lost in six games to the Toronto Blue Jays. Thomas did win a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 as their director of player development.
MLB Playing Career
From 1961 to 1968, Thomas was a right fielder and first baseman with the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. In 1027 games, 3731 plate appearances, and 3324 at bats, he batted .255 with 106 home runs and 428 runs batted in. Thomas also scored 405 runs and had 847 hits, 111 doubles, 22 triples, 25 stolen bases, 332 walks, 1320 total bases, 23 sacrifice bunts, 19 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .327 and a slugging percentage of .397.
1962 All-Star
In his first full season with the Angels (Thomas had a cup of coffee with the Yankees before joining the Angels in his 1961 rookie season), Thomas was an All-Star and batted .290 with 26 home runs and 104 runs batted in. During 160 games, 652 plate appearances, and 583 at bats, he scored 88 runs and had 169 hits, 21 doubles, two triples, six stolen bases, 55 walks, 272 total bases, four sacrifice bunts, four sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .355, and a slugging percentage of .467. Thomas has career highs in runs, hits, home runs, runs batted in, batting average, and total bases. He also tied a career-high in stolen bases in 1962 with six (also had six with the Red Sox in 1965), and sacrifice flies in 1962 with four (also had four sacrifice flies while playing with the Angels and Red Sox in 1964).
Other Baseball Jobs
After his retirement, Thomas stayed very active in baseball. In addition to being the Phillies GM, he was the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen coach in 1971, manager of the Gulf Coast League Redbirds (1973) manager of the Modesto Reds (1974), Cardinals traveling secretary (1975-1979), director of player development (1980-87), special assistant to the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, and a scout for the Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers.
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