Former GM Lee Thomas, architect of ‘93 Phils, dies at 86

When the Phillies hired Lee Thomas on June 21, 1988, the new general manager faced a daunting task.

The team he was taking over was well on its way to losing 96 games. He would be working with a constricted payroll. And he was the third person to hold the position in less than a year. His immediate predecessor, Woody Woodward, had been fired two weeks earlier after less than nine months on the job.

Thomas, who passed away after a long illness Wednesday in his adopted hometown of St. Louis at the age of 86, was unfazed. He began revamping the roster through a series of shrewd moves.

It all came together in 1993 when the Phils went from worst to first, going nearly wire-to-wire to win the National League East and upsetting the heavily favored Braves in the NLCS before falling to the Blue Jays in the World Series.