TORONTO — From the outside looking in, the fit appeared almost inevitable. How could the Blue Jays not hire John Schneider, the baseball lifer who led the Blue Jays to a 46-28 record after taking over as interim manager in July? Why wouldn’t they just lock him in?
Well, the Blue Jays being the Blue Jays, they wanted to be as thorough as possible — especially on a decision with such significance. So, in the two weeks following the Blue Jays’ elimination from the playoffs, they attempted to stress-test their relationship with John Schneider. Were they aligned on what mattered most? Analytics, for instance. Or the ideal structure of a coaching staff. In-game decision making.
In the end, the answer was ‘yes’ and on Thursday Schneider signed the contract that made it official: he’s the 14th manager in franchise history. After 20 seasons in the Blue Jays’ organization, the 42-year-old Schneider has completed the transition from minor-league catcher, to coach, to big-league manager.
“I love being around the game. I love understanding people within the game, and I think that kind of sparked my interest into the coaching aspect and trying to help others,” Schneider said. “So it kind of made sense to turn the page (from playing) and evolved along the way. I learned a lot.”
More important for the Blue Jays: what happens next? On that front, we learned a lot over the course of the three months Schneider managed. If those 76 games offer any indication, here’s what we can expect from the Blue Jays’ bench boss in 2023…
EFFORT OVER EGOS
On Sept. 27, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. admired a potential home run only to see the ball stay in the park. He tried to make up for his slow start by pushing for second, where he was thrown out. Afterwards, Schneider’s response was blunt.
“Vladdy flat-out needs to run harder,” he said. “That’s inexcusable.”
With the loss still fresh, Schneider added that mistakes are part of the game. A conversation with Guerrero Jr. followed, and the issue didn’t resurface in 2022. But in that moment, we learned that Schneider won’t hesitate to call out lapses of effort where appropriate — regardless of the stature of the players involved.
At the same time, Schneider makes it clear that part of his job is understanding the challenges players face as they compete against the best in the world while facing significant pressure on a nightly basis. As long as the effort is there, expect Schneider to have his players’ backs.
“Understanding how hard the game is and how good the players are, having empathy for them and understanding that mistakes are going to happen,” Schneider said Friday. “Having empathy for the difficulty of the game, understanding the person, not just the player, I think is big. Always keeping them in the forefront of what you’re trying to do.”
PRODUCTION OVER PEDIGREE
Speaking of stars, let’s go back to Aug. 16, the first — and it would turn out only — time Bo Bichette batted seventh in 2022. At the time, Bichette was batting a modest .260 with a .731 OPS. And it’s not as though the Blue Jays bumped him to seventh as a punitive measure. They simply believed the six hitters ahead of him — George Springer, Guerrero Jr., Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez — were better options on that day.
Now, could an equally compelling case be made for keeping Bichette higher up? Of course. We’re talking about the player who’s led the American League in hits back-to-back seasons. But the point here isn’t to relitigate that debate. It’s simply to note that Schneider seems willing to respond to what he sees, instead of deferring to what’s expected or what’s always been done.
PUSHING OVER WAITING
Even now, when analytics are at the forefront of everything in baseball, there’s no simple way to track hit-and-run attempts (How is that possible in 2022? But I digress…). Anecdotally, though, Schneider attempted more hit and runs than his predecessor, Charlie Montoyo.
And this much we can definitely quantify: the Blue Jays stole fewer bases (33) in 88 games under Montoyo than they did (34) in 74 games under Schneider. That doesn’t mean the 2023 Blue Jays will resemble the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals (no need for that when you have this much power). But it does demonstrate a willingness to apply pressure on other teams.
PREPARATION OVER PRESUMPTION
On Oct. 6, the Blue Jays spent much of their pre-playoff workout day running through pitchers’ fielding drills and pickoff drills. It wasn’t exciting and — it must be noted — it didn’t ultimately lead to the result the Blue Jays wanted, but there was no mistaking Schneider’s enthusiasm as he mingled among the players and coaches on the eve of the playoffs.
“This (stuff) matters,” he exclaimed with a smile as a few onlookers watched the workout.
Clearly, there’s a belief that working on the little things pays off when it matters most. A few months from now, that work will begin anew as Schneider runs his first big-league spring training. In the meantime, he’ll get some rest and work with GM Ross Atkins to finalize the team’s 2023 coaching staff.
It all sounds ideal, right? Well, it probably should on the day a new manager’s officially hired. Otherwise there would be a problem. Ultimately, the biggest tests have yet to come and it’s how Schneider responds to those that will determine his legacy with the Blue Jays.
