Lee Thomas
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1968)
Lee Thomas was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1968 for 6 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 8 seasons. In 1,027 career games, he hit .255 with 847 hits, 106 home runs, and 428 RBI. Lee Thomas was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,752.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 195 lb
- Died
- 8/31/2022 in St. Louis, MO, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1961-04-22
- Last Game
- 1968-09-27
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: James Leroy Thomas
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,027 | 3,324 | 405 | 847 | 111 | 22 | 106 | 428 | 25 | 332 | 397 | .255 | .327 | .397 | .724 | 3,752 |
Career AVG .255 vs. league average .248 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .327 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .397 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — +6.4% above league average.
Career OPS .724 vs. league average .686 across their career seasons — +5.5% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | NYA | AL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | LAA | AL | 130 | 450 | 77 | 128 | 11 | 5 | 24 | 70 | 0 | 47 | 74 | .284 | .258 (+10%) | .328 (+7%) | .399 (+23%) | .727 (+16%) | 0.0 |
| 1962 | LAA | AL | 160 | 583 | 88 | 169 | 21 | 2 | 26 | 104 | 6 | 55 | 74 | .290 | .257 (+13%) | .326 (+9%) | .393 (+19%) | .719 (+14%) | 1719.6 |
| 1963 | LAA | AL | 149 | 528 | 52 | 116 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 6 | 53 | 82 | .220 | .246 (-11%) | .308 (-3%) | .371 (-15%) | .680 (-9%) | -644.2 |
| 1964 | LAA | AL | 47 | 172 | 14 | 47 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 18 | 22 | .273 | .250 (+9%) | .312 (+9%) | .377 (-3%) | .690 (+2%) | 98.5 |
| 1964 | BOS | AL | 107 | 401 | 44 | 103 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 42 | 2 | 34 | 29 | .257 | .250 (+3%) | .312 (+2%) | .377 (+9%) | .690 (+6%) | 98.5 |
| 1965 | BOS | AL | 151 | 521 | 74 | 141 | 27 | 4 | 22 | 75 | 6 | 72 | 42 | .271 | .245 (+10%) | .310 (+16%) | .371 (+25%) | .682 (+21%) | 2245.0 |
| 1966 | ATL | NL | 39 | 126 | 11 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 15 | .198 | .248 (-20%) | .309 (-16%) | .376 (-3%) | .685 (-9%) | -184.9 |
| 1966 | CHN | NL | 75 | 149 | 15 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 15 | .242 | .248 (-3%) | .309 (+3%) | .376 (-23%) | .685 (-11%) | -184.9 |
| 1967 | CHN | NL | 77 | 191 | 16 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 15 | 22 | .220 | .242 (-9%) | .306 (-7%) | .357 (-21%) | .663 (-15%) | -391.6 |
| 1968 | HOU | NL | 90 | 201 | 14 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 14 | 22 | .194 | .236 (-18%) | .298 (-17%) | .340 (-33%) | .638 (-25%) | -703.5 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 1,027 | 3,324 | 405 | 847 | 111 | 22 | 106 | 428 | 25 | 332 | 397 | .255 | — | — | — | — | 2,052 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1027 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 512 | 1615 | 201 | 424 | 43 | 199 | .263 |
| Away | 515 | 1709 | 204 | 423 | 63 | 228 | .248 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-09-27 | HOU | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-24 | HOU | SFG | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-21 | HOU | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1968-09-20 | HOU | CIN | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-19 | HOU | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1968-09-18 | HOU | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-14 | HOU | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1968-09-11 | HOU | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-11 | HOU | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-10 | HOU | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 425 | 383 | 3489 | 275 | 46 | 313 |
| OF | 485 | 448 | 789 | 34 | 21 | 5 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | LAA | 1B | 34 | 30 | 267 | 10 | 5 | 26 |
| 1961 | LAA | OF | 86 | 79 | 159 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| 1962 | LAA | 1B | 90 | 79 | 735 | 42 | 14 | 66 |
| 1962 | LAA | OF | 74 | 67 | 133 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 1963 | LAA | 1B | 104 | 98 | 961 | 84 | 4 | 88 |
| 1963 | LAA | OF | 43 | 41 | 71 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1964 | LAA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | LAA | OF | 47 | 44 | 71 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 1964 | BOS | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | BOS | OF | 107 | 107 | 176 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 1965 | BOS | 1B | 127 | 123 | 1035 | 97 | 18 | 86 |
| 1965 | BOS | OF | 20 | 18 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966 | ATL | 1B | 36 | 33 | 281 | 26 | 4 | 22 |
| 1966 | CHN | 1B | 20 | 12 | 121 | 8 | 1 | 13 |
| 1966 | CHN | OF | 17 | 15 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | CHN | 1B | 10 | 6 | 71 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| 1967 | CHN | OF | 43 | 36 | 60 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1968 | HOU | 1B | 2 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 1968 | HOU | OF | 48 | 41 | 67 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 424 |
| Left Field | 89 |
| Center Field | 22 |
| Right Field | 385 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 32.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1961 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 1.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1961 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 3rd | 2.0 | 20 | 2 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Lee Thomas (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Lee Thomas: the record in brief
Lee Thomas played a first major league game on April 22, 1961 and a last one on September 27, 1968. The team column moves through the New York Yankees (1961), the Los Angeles Angels (1961 to 1964), the Boston Red Sox (1964 to 1965), the Atlanta Braves (1966), the Chicago Cubs (1966 to 1967), and the Houston Astros (1968). Thomas played primarily as an outfielder and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Born on February 5, 1936, in Peoria, IL, USA, Thomas was listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 195 pounds. The bio records the death on August 31, 2022, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Lee Thomas was the playing name; the full given name is James Leroy.
Across 1,027 games at the plate, Thomas's career line reads 847 hits in 3,324 at bats for a .255 average, plus 106 home runs, 428 RBI, and 25 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .327 and .397 give Thomas a career OPS of .724.
Frequently Asked Questions about Lee Thomas
- What years did Lee Thomas play?
- Lee Thomas played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1968.
- Was Lee Thomas a pitcher?
- No. Lee Thomas was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Lee Thomas hit?
- Lee Thomas hit 106 career home runs with 847 hits.
- What was Lee Thomas's career batting average?
- Lee Thomas batted .255 over his career, with 847 hits in 3,324 at bats.
- How many RBI did Lee Thomas have?
- Lee Thomas drove in 428 runs in his career.
- Is Lee Thomas in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Lee Thomas has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.