Joe Klein was the kind of guy you never knew was around -- until you needed him. He was one of those generally unrecognized, often underappreciated, "baseball lifers" who worked at every level of the game but was most comfortable when he was in a position to help others.
Which explains why his last 20 years, as the only president the independent Atlantic League has ever known, were among the most rewarding for Klein, who died Aug. 23, a day after his 75th birthday, following complications from quadruple bypass surgery.
A native of Baltimore, Klein was one of the best amateur players in the area in the pre-draft era of the early 1960s. He played seven years and managed for nine in the minor leagues, all in the system of the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. He moved into the front office as scouting and farm director and later as head of player development. Eventually Klein served three stints as a general manager, with the Rangers, Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers, each time helping a struggling ownership group either in the process of buying or selling the franchise.
