Outfielder Adam Klein will return for a second season at U. S. Steel Yard in 2011 after a record-setting debut in 2010.

Klein, 27, was first acquired by the RailCats in a trade from the Golden League’s Edmonton Capitals before the start of the 2010 season and made an immediate impact in Northwest Indiana. The fleet-footed outfielder was the model of consistency in a ‘Cats uniform, becoming the first player in RailCats history to play in every regular season game to set a club record for games played (100). Klein tied fellow outfielder Mike Massaro with 119 hits in 2010 for another RailCats single-season team record and finished the season just shy of the .300 mark with a .299 batting average adding 18 doubles, 54 RBI and an impressive .380 on-base percentage. The speedster also stole 29 bases for the RailCats in 2010, the second-most in team history behind only Billy Brown’s 32 swipes in 2003.

Klein was one of the Northern League’s chief pitcher pests in 2009 while a member of the Joliet JackHammers, leading the league with 58 walks and stealing 32 bases – good for second among all NL thieves.  The former Oakland Athletics farmhand played in a remarkable 94 of 95 games for the ‘Hammers in 2009 and was also one of the league’s top defensive centerfielders, committing only six errors and rolling up 10 outfield assists.  In November 2009, Klein was dealt to Edmonton as part of a four-player trade.

A top-of-the-order hitter, Klein has boasted an on-base percentage of at least .369 in each season of his professional career, including a 2008 in which he batted .271 and drew a whopping 68 walks in 79 games for the Kane County Cougars (A), good for a .416 on-base percentage.  In four professional seasons, the Los Angeles native has a .276 average and .404 OBP, collecting 329 hits and 242 walks in 325 games, and has swiped 113 bases.

Originally selected in the 48th round of the 2007 Major League Entry Draft – he was the 1,409th overall pick – Klein reached as high as Double-A in his two seasons as an A’s farmhand.   Klein finished his college career at Division II Cal State-Los Angeles in 2007 when he was a Second Team All-Conference and All-Region pick while drawing a school-record 69 walks.