James Leroy Thomas (February 5, 1936 – August 31, 2022) was an American first baseman and right fielder, coach and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1961 to 1968, most notably the Los Angeles Angels, then went on to a successful tenure as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Traded to the Angels one month after the expansion franchise began play in 1961, he tied for third in Rookie of the Year voting after batting .285 with 24 home runs and 70 runs batted in (RBI), primarily playing in the outfield. The following year, he was named to the American League (AL) All-Star team after shifting to first base, and appeared in both All-Star games played that year as a pinch hitter and late-inning defensive replacement. He finished the year with career highs in batting (.290), home runs (26) and RBI (104), but a sharp decline in 1963 led to his being traded to the Boston Red Sox in mid-1964, the first of four trades before the 1968 season.
After finishing his major league career with a .255 average, 106 home runs and 428 RBI, Thomas played for the Nankai Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1969. He played one more season in the minor leagues, then joined the St. Louis Cardinals as a coach for two years, followed by two years managing in the minors, before returning to the Cardinals organization to help them reach the World Series three times in the 1980s. Hired as the Phillies' general manager in 1988, he rebuilt the team's roster and assembled the team which advanced to the 1993 World Series; he served in the role until 1997 before spending another twenty years serving four teams as a scout and front-office executive.
In 1971, Thomas joined the MLB Cardinals as bullpen coach. In 1973, he became manager of the GCL Red Birds in the Rookie-levelGulf Coast League. Then, in 1974, Thomas moved up to Class A as skipper of the Modesto Reds of the California League. Thomas moved into the Cardinals' front office in 1975, becoming traveling secretary and rising to the position of director of player development in 1980. He was a key member of the St. Louis organization during the club's run of success during the early to mid-1980s when the Cards, led by managerWhitey Herzog, won NL pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987 and the 1982 World Series.[2]
When four straight losing seasons followed the 1993 pennant, Thomas was fired and replaced as general manager by Ed Wade, his assistant.[17][18] He then returned to the Red Sox as a special assistant to Dan Duquette, Boston's general manager, in 1998.[19] He played a key role in Boston's signing of free agent outfielders Manny Ramírez in December 2000 and Johnny Damon one year later. He served the Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers as a scout,[20] and on December 4, 2011, he joined the Baltimore Orioles as a special assistant to Duquette, who was the executive vice president.[21] He served in the role until the end of the 2018 season.[21][22]
Personal life and death
Thomas was married twice and had four children.[2] He died at his home in St. Louis on August 31, 2022, at age 86.[23]
^Hagen, Paul (August 31, 2022). "Former GM Lee Thomas, architect of '93 Phils, dies at 86". MLB.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ abcde"Lee Thomas". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
^"Retrosheet Boxscore: Baltimore Orioles 5, New York Yankees 3 (1)". www.retrosheet.org.
^ ab"Orioles adviser Lee Thomas may be the most interesting man in baseball you don't know – The Virginian-Pilot". Pilotonline.com. June 2, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
^"9 May 1961, 20 – The Virginian-Pilot". Newspapers.com. May 9, 1961. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
^"4 Jun 1964, Page 64 – Philadelphia Daily News". Newspapers.com. June 4, 1964. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
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James Leroy Thomas February 5 1936 August 31 2022 was an American first baseman and right fielder coach and front office executive in Major League Baseball MLB who played for six teams from 1961 to 1968 most notably the Los Angeles Angels then went on to a successful tenure as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies Traded to the Angels one month after the expansion franchise began play in 1961 he tied for third in Rookie of the Year voting after batting 285 with 24 home runs and 70 runs batted in RBI primarily playing in the outfield The following year he was named to the American League AL All Star team after shifting to first base and appeared in both All Star games played that year as a pinch hitter and late inning defensive replacement He finished the year with career highs in batting 290 home runs 26 and RBI 104 but a sharp decline in 1963 led to his being traded to the Boston Red Sox in mid 1964 the first of four trades before the 1968 season Lee ThomasFirst baseman Right fielderBorn 1936 02 05 February 5 1936Peoria Illinois U S Died August 31 2022 2022 08 31 aged 86 St Louis Missouri U S Batted LeftThrew RightMLB debutApril 22 1961 for the New York YankeesLast MLB appearanceSeptember 27 1968 for the Houston AstrosMLB statisticsBatting average 255Home runs106Runs batted in428TeamsNew York Yankees 1961 Los Angeles Angels 1961 1964 Boston Red Sox 1964 1965 Atlanta Braves 1966 Chicago Cubs 1966 1967 Houston Astros 1968 Nankai Hawks 1969 Career highlights and awards2 All Star 1962 1962 After finishing his major league career with a 255 average 106 home runs and 428 RBI Thomas played for the Nankai Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1969 He played one more season in the minor leagues then joined the St Louis Cardinals as a coach for two years followed by two years managing in the minors before returning to the Cardinals organization to help them reach the World Series three times in the 1980s Hired as the Phillies general manager in 1988 he rebuilt the team s roster and assembled the team which advanced to the 1993 World Series he served in the role until 1997 before spending another twenty years serving four teams as a scout and front office executive Contents 1 Playing career 2 Front office career 3 Personal life and death 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPlaying career EditThomas was born in Peoria Illinois on February 5 1936 1 and moved to St Louis Missouri with his family as a child He graduated from Beaumont High School in St Louis in 1954 and was signed by New York Yankees scout Lou Maguolo 2 Thomas spent seven full years in the minor leagues unable to break into the Yankees lineup despite putting up good offensive statistics in minor league baseball He had two at bats for the Yankees in 1961 and garnered one hit a pinch single off future Baseball Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm then with the Baltimore Orioles on April 22 in his first MLB at bat 3 4 On May 8 the Yankees traded Thomas Ryne Duren and Johnny James to the one month old Los Angeles Angels for Bob Cerv and Tex Clevenger 5 The trade was a boon to Thomas beginning his five year tenure as an everyday player he appeared in 486 games for the Angels and 258 more for the Boston Red Sox who acquired him for outfielder Lou Clinton on June 4 1964 6 From 1961 to 1965 Thomas topped the 20 home run mark three times and drove in 104 runs batted in for the Angels in 1962 On September 5 1961 Thomas collected nine hits in 11 at bats in a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics hitting three home runs and driving in eight runs in the nightcap 7 He became one of eight players with nine hits in a doubleheader 4 He was selected to the 1962 American League All Star team and popped out as a pinch hitter in that year s first All Star game played at DC Stadium on July 10 In the year s second All Star game played July 30 at Wrigley Field he appeared as a defensive replacement in left field for the game s final two innings and did not bat 2 On December 15 1965 the Red Sox traded Thomas Arnold Earley and a player to be named later Jay Ritchie to the Atlanta Braves for Dan Osinski and Bob Sadowski 8 Thomas was the starting first baseman in the first game in the Braves Atlanta history going hitless in five at bats on April 12 1966 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium 9 Thomas held the starting job for the first full month of the season but he struggled offensively hitting only 198 in 126 at bats On May 28 1966 the Braves traded him to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Abernathy 10 He then served as a part time player and pinch hitter with the Cubs and Houston Astros where he was dealt for two minor league players on February 9 1968 11 through the end of the 1968 campaign He played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Nankai Hawks in 1969 12 After he signed a minor league contract with the St Louis Cardinals organization for the 1970 season 13 they assigned him to the Tulsa Oilers of the American Association where he concluded his 17 year pro playing career at age 34 14 In Major League Baseball Thomas compiled a career batting average of 255 in 1 027 games played with 847 hits and 106 home runs 15 16 Front office career EditIn 1971 Thomas joined the MLB Cardinals as bullpen coach In 1973 he became manager of the GCL Red Birds in the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Then in 1974 Thomas moved up to Class A as skipper of the Modesto Reds of the California League Thomas moved into the Cardinals front office in 1975 becoming traveling secretary and rising to the position of director of player development in 1980 He was a key member of the St Louis organization during the club s run of success during the early to mid 1980s when the Cards led by manager Whitey Herzog won NL pennants in 1982 1985 and 1987 and the 1982 World Series 2 In June 1988 the Philadelphia Phillies hired Thomas as their general manager He acquired players such as Curt Schilling Lenny Dykstra and Mitch Williams who played critical roles in the Phillies 1993 pennant winning team which lost the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays That same year The Sporting News named him Executive of the Year for all of Major League Baseball 2 When four straight losing seasons followed the 1993 pennant Thomas was fired and replaced as general manager by Ed Wade his assistant 17 18 He then returned to the Red Sox as a special assistant to Dan Duquette Boston s general manager in 1998 19 He played a key role in Boston s signing of free agent outfielders Manny Ramirez in December 2000 and Johnny Damon one year later He served the Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers as a scout 20 and on December 4 2011 he joined the Baltimore Orioles as a special assistant to Duquette who was the executive vice president 21 He served in the role until the end of the 2018 season 21 22 Personal life and death EditThomas was married twice and had four children 2 He died at his home in St Louis on August 31 2022 at age 86 23 See also EditList of Philadelphia Phillies award winners and league leaders List of St Louis Cardinals coachesReferences Edit Hagen Paul August 31 2022 Former GM Lee Thomas architect of 93 Phils dies at 86 MLB com Retrieved September 1 2022 a b c d e Lee Thomas Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved August 31 2022 Retrosheet Boxscore Baltimore Orioles 5 New York Yankees 3 1 www retrosheet org a b Orioles adviser Lee Thomas may be the most interesting man in baseball you don t know The Virginian Pilot Pilotonline com June 2 2018 Retrieved August 31 2022 9 May 1961 20 The Virginian Pilot Newspapers com May 9 1961 Retrieved August 31 2022 4 Jun 1964 Page 64 Philadelphia Daily News Newspapers com June 4 1964 Retrieved August 31 2022 Retrosheet player profile London Mike January 7 2016 Jay Ritchie Rowan County baseball legend dies at 80 Salisbury Post Retrieved August 31 2022 Retrosheet Boxscore Pittsburgh Pirates 3 Atlanta Braves 2 www retrosheet org 29 May 1966 Page 18 Palladium Item Newspapers com May 29 1966 Retrieved August 31 2022 10 Feb 1968 21 The Austin American Newspapers com February 10 1968 Retrieved August 31 2022 18 Feb 1969 Page 38 San Antonio Express Newspapers com February 18 1969 Retrieved August 31 2022 4 Feb 1970 7 St Joseph Gazette Newspapers com February 4 1970 Retrieved August 31 2022 1 Apr 1970 Page 31 Herald and Review Newspapers com April 1 1970 Retrieved August 31 2022 Lee Thomas architect of the 1993 Phillies dies at 86 Associated Press August 31 2022 Retrieved September 1 2022 PHILS GIVE THOMAS KEY POST The Morning Call Mcall com Retrieved August 31 2022 Phillies Fire GM Thomas Tap Wade AP News December 10 1997 Retrieved August 31 2022 PLUS BASEBALL PHILADELPHIA G M Dismissed The New York Times The New York Times December 10 1997 Retrieved August 31 2022 25 Feb 1998 Page 83 Philadelphia Daily News Newspapers com February 25 1998 Retrieved August 31 2022 Baseball America Annual Directory 2004 05 and 2009 editions a b Kubatko Roch December 4 2011 Thomas and Ferreira Added to Orioles Front Office Mid Atlantic Sports Network Retrieved August 31 2022 Kubatko Roch November 1 2018 More Changes Coming to Oriole Front Office and Scouting Mid Atlantic Sports Network Retrieved August 31 2022 Lee Thomas passes away MLB com External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors or RetrosheetSporting positionsPreceded byWoody Woodward Philadelphia Phillies General Manager1988 1997 Succeeded byEd WadeAwards and achievementsPreceded byDan Duquette Sporting News Major League Baseball Executive of the Year1993 Succeeded byJohn Hart Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lee Thomas baseball amp oldid 1133327497, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
