Joe Klein made Atlantic League what it is today

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – Two decades ago, when Frank Boulton was in the process of putting together the Atlantic League, he only had one name in mind for the position of executive director.

“I met Joe in an Applebee’s in Bowie, Maryland,” Boulton recalled. “This was way before the league started, and after it was over, I said, ‘He’s the guy.’ ”

Klein remained in that position until he passed away at the age of 75 on Wednesday morning at Temple University Hospital following complications from quadruple bypass surgery. He enjoyed a six-decade career in baseball as a player, manager, scout, scouting director and farm director and also served as the general manager of the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers.

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But for those who follow the independent circuit closely, it was in the Atlantic League where Klein arguably made the biggest impact out of all of those stops, playing a significant role in helping turn a start-up into the top non-affiliated league in the country. “The Atlantic League isn’t what it is today without Joe Klein,” said Somerset Patriots manager emeritus Sparky Lyle.

Klein was particularly instrumental in the early days of the league, using his vast connections within the game to help the league grow, including landing several big spring training sites. But it was his eye for the game that stood out most to those who knew him best, as is evidenced by a story Boulton likes to tell about Ruben Sierra, who was one of the league’s most prominent “big name” players back in the early days while playing for the Atlantic City Surf.

“We were sitting in the stands, and Joe said, ‘He’s not seeing the ball,’ ” Boulton said. “I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Ruben wears glasses, and he’s not wearing them, but I bet he doesn’t have his contacts in.’ So, after the game, we went downstairs, and I was sitting there. He goes, ‘Ruben, you wear glasses, right?’ Ruben said yes. Joe said, ‘Do you have contacts in?’ He goes, ‘No, because my eyes are dry and they won’t stay in.’ The next day Joe said, ‘I want you to go to the eye doctor and have this checked out.’ ”

“They gave him some eyedrops and put his contacts back in. He went on to hit something like .350 for the next month, got signed and goes back to the major leagues for a number of years because Joe Klein saw that. I wasn’t going to see that.”

Patriots chairman Steve Kalafer always had a good relationship with Klein, and recognized his impact in a statement after his passing. “His involvement in the league since the start gave us a seal of approval within professional baseball,” said Kalafer, in part. “His work in the Atlantic League every single day has helped bring baseball to millions and his efforts on behalf of the players gave thousands the chance to continue playing at a very high level of professional baseball with the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. He oversaw more than 800 transactions that got players to Major League organizations and was part of the journey of over 150 plus players reaching Major League Baseball again or for the first time.”

Klein made nearly all of the baseball-related decisions in the league, given autonomy by Boulton to do so. He was always fair, and developed a mutual respect with nearly every player, manager and coach in the league despite serving in a capacity where many others wouldn’t have been as fortunate.

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While he was unquestionably impartial, Klein did take a particular liking to a jacket he got back in Bridgewater during the first time they hosted the Atlantic League All-Star Game, which he wore to the midsummer classic in Somerset some 17 years later, ultimately his final public appearance with the league.

“One of my favorite things was that we both still wore, him more than me, the 2000 Atlantic League All-Star jacket we got in Somerset,” Boulton said. “It’s a brown, maybe-suede jacket. We were looking at pictures of Joe, and he had the jacket on in every picture. The funny thing is that he had the jacket on at this year’s All-Star Gala. He came in late, and he was kind of shuffling along. I saw him come in, asked how he was doing...I said, ‘You’ve got the jacket on.’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’ So I asked him how his was in so much better shape than mine. He said, ‘I don’t know, I always just throw it in the truck.’ But he loved that jacket and he wore it all the time. My wife took mine and hid it on me, but today, I got it out of the attic.”