The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, N.J. – The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball has announced that Somerset Patriots President/General Manager Patrick McVerry has been named the 2018 Joe Klein Executive of the Year. The Somerset Patriots have also received the Ken Shepard Award For Promotional Excellence for the second consecutive season. 
McVerry oversaw the Somerset Patriots’ 20th Season at TD Bank Ballpark in 2018, where the team led the Atlantic League in total (369,119) and average attendance (5,127) for the second straight season. The Somerset Patriots also welcomed their 7,000,000th fan in franchise history on July 26th and won their 1,500th regular season game on August 29th.
The organization set a new Atlantic League Playoffs attendance record when 8,143 fans attended Game 3 of the Liberty Division Series at TD Bank Ballpark on Friday, September 21st.
As President/General Manager, McVerry is responsible for the daily operation of the organization and oversees all baseball and business operations, sales, and administration.
He is the only general manager to be in the league and with the same team for 20 years. He joined the Somerset Patriots in 1998 as the Director of Marketing and was promoted to President/General Manager by the middle of the 2002 season. This is the third time McVerry has been named the league’s top executive.
The Joe Klein Executive of the Year Award is in honor of the late Joe Klein, who was the Executive Director of the Atlantic League from its inception in 1998 until his passing in 2017.
The Ken Shepard Award For Promotional Excellence is presented to club that demonstrates extraordinary promotional impact throughout the Atlantic League season, creating a reputation of event marketing excellence
In 2018, the Somerset Patriots’ use of social media, video production, and their very popular mobile app, kept fans engaged with the team throughout the year.
The Somerset Patriots found success in special promotional nights featuring celebrity appearances. The team celebrated the 25th Anniversary of The Sandlot with the film’s star Tom Guiry, who played the lead “Scotty Smalls” in the 1993 baseball classic. The Somerset Patriots also welcomed WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and New York Giants legend and Ring of Honor member Mark Bavaro to the ballpark this season.
A very popular promotion was the team’s Fortnite event on August 4th that helped bring one of the largest crowds of the season.
In addition to these promotions, the Somerset Patriots honored veterans, first responders, positive coaches, teachers and students with their own nights at the ballpark.
The award is named after the late Ken Shepard, who worked in baseball for nearly 30 years – including two as the general manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish – before he passed away in 2014. He made a name for himself wherever he worked for his unique knack for promotions that helped increase attendance and fan experience.
The Somerset Patriots will be back in action in the spring of 2019. Stay up to date on all the team news throughout the offseason online; on all of our social media platforms, and on our mobile app. For more information, visit www.somersetpatriots.com.
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 40 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 900 players and 70 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment.
For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com
