James LeRoy “Lee” Thomas (born February 5th, 1936 in Peoria, IL) is a special assignment scout for the Milwaukee Brewers and a former player and front-office executive in American Minor League Baseball.  As general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1988 – 97, 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 immediately thereafter.

In his playing days, Thomas was a powerful outfielder and first baseman that batted left-handed and threw right-handed.  Originally a member of the New York Yankees organization (1954 - 61), Thomas could not break into the Bombers’ strong lineup.  He had two at bats for the 1961 Yanks (garnering one hit), and 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 – 65, 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 (1966 – 68) 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.

In the early 1970’s, Thomas joined the St. Louis Cardinals as a minor league manager and eventually rose to the position of Director of Player Development.  He was a key member of the Cardinals’ front office 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).

In June 1988, Thomas was lured to Philadelphia to take command of the Phillies.  He acquired players such as Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra, and Mitch Williams, who played critical roles in the Phil’s last pennant-winning team, which lost the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays.

When four straight losing seasons followed the ’93 pennant, Ed Wade, his assistant, replaced Thomas as GM.  He then returned to the Red Sox as a special assistant to the general manager from 1998 – 2003, where he played a key role in Boston’s signing of free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez in December 2000, before accepting his current post with the Brewers.