George Edward Thomas, Jr. (born November 29, 1937) is a retired American professional baseball player. Primarily an outfielder, he played at least one game at every position except pitcher during a 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1957–58; 1961; 1963–65), Los Angeles Angels (1961–63), Boston Red Sox (1966–71) and Minnesota Twins (1971). He also was an assistant coach (1972–78) and head baseball coach (1979–81) at the University of Minnesota after his active career ended. The native of Minneapolis threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg).

Thomas signed a $25,000 bonus contract with the Tigers in 1957 after playing one season of varsity baseball with the University of Minnesota. Prohibited by the bonus rule of the time from being sent to the minor leagues, he appeared in only one big-league game in his first pro season, striking out as a pinch hitter against Ted Abernathy of the Washington Senators on September 11, 1957. Inserted into the game at third base, he made an error on his only fielding chance, but the miscue and the unearned run it produced were harmless, as Detroit won, 12–2. Thomas then spent most of 1958 and all of 1959–60 in the Tigers' farm system, rapidly rising from Class B to Triple-A.

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