Roy Thomas
Outfielder
1899-1908, 1910-1911
Career w/Phillies: .294 AVG / 6 HR / 264 RBI / 228 SB
Born in Norristown, he played almost all of his career with his hometown team. Then he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. And for much of 11 seasons, Roy Thomas was among the top offensive players in baseball. He was top 10, National League, in on-base percentage nine times (28th all time), batting average three times and runs eight times. Thomas was the consummate leadoff hitter, stealing almost 20 bases per season and reaching 100 walks seven times. And amazingly, he is the only major league regular to score three times as much as he’s driven in. Pretty perfect as a leadoff hitter.
Comment: A very early star, Thomas is too overlooked to be considered one of the greatest leadoff hitters of all time by most experts, but he probably was. He walked a lot. He stole a lot of bases. He hit a lot of singles. Then he scored runs. A great player.
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