Former Indians GM Joe Klein Passes Away

Former Cleveland Indians General Manager Joe Klein passed away on Wednesday morning, a day after his 76th birthday.

Klein was the Tribe GM for two seasons from 1986 to 1987. The 1987 season is one that most Indians fans will recall as two of the most notable players on the team, Joe Carter and Corey Snyder, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated declaring they were the best team in the American League.

Instead, the season was a disaster as the team lost 101 games, and Klein was demoted after the season.

Klein also spent time with the Royals, as GM in one stint and vice president of player personnel in another, was with the Texas Rangers before coming to Cleveland as their GM, and in 1992 went on to be the team president for the Detroit Tigers.

He will most be remembered for his time in the Atlantic League, were he was executive director and was in charge of day-to-day baseball operations of the organization.

In 2015 the Atlantic League ‘Executive of the Year Award’ was named after Klein.