Lawrence High grad Schneider rising in Jays’ farm system as manager
TRENTON » During John Schneider’s sixth season as a prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, his career in professional baseball took a twist.
A series of concussions and other injuries piled up, and the Princeton native steadily came to the realization that his playing days were almost over. But that didn’t mean his dream of working in Major League Baseball had to end.
Schneider always wanted to get into coaching and eventually managing one day, so he jumped at the opportunity to get an early start with the franchise that drafted him as a catcher out of Delaware in 2002.
“The Blue Jays have always done a good job of viewing players who they could see kind of turn the page and get into the coaching part of it,” Schneider said. “They talked to me a little bit in spring training in 2008 and gave me the opportunity to kind of just stay in it, which is cool. It’s tough to get back in once you’re out. I took it and been fortunate enough to be here for as long as I have been.”
Schneider, a 1998 Lawrence High graduate, is in his first season managing the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who are in town until Wednesday to play the Thunder.
It has been a surreal full-circle experience for Schneider, who last visited Arm & Hammer Park when he played in the Eastern League in 2007. He also played on the field as a teenager in various showcases.
“It’s cool to come here in a totally different capacity doing something like this,” said Schneider, who was inducted into the Lawrence High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. “It’s neat. You don’t get to do it too often in professional baseball, so it’s something that I don’t take for granted.”
Over the last four years, Schneider has advanced four levels in Toronto’s farm system as a manager. He was promoted from the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays (rookie ball) to the Vancouver Canadiens (Class-A Short Season) in 2015, to the Lansing Lugnuts (Low-A) in 2016, to the Dunedin Blue Jays (High-A) in 2017, and then Double-A this season.
Along the way he has overseen the development of some of the best prospects in baseball including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a power-hitting third baseman who is ranked No. 2 overall by MLB.com.
“Every level is a new challenge. It gets a little bit faster, it gets a little bit tougher,” Schneider said. “But it’s fun to have the same kind of core group of guys come up with you. I’m a big believer in being familiar with your players is going to lead to a pretty fun year.”
Similar to the players, Schneider says coaches strive to improve on various aspects of their craft as they rise in the system. Every game is a learning experience. Every year is an opportunity to make an impression to the organization.
His goal is to one day coach in the majors.
“No doubt,” Schneider said. “We’re fortunate enough to be in the game. I don’t think any of us — coaches, players — take it for granted. There’s a long list of people that want to do what we do, so you want to keep trying to improve. You want to try to keep getting better, and hopefully it works out.”
After the first game of New Hampshire’s series with Trenton on Monday night, Schneider spent time in the clubhouse with his younger brother, Kevin, who is now the head baseball coach at Immaculata University.
Also in attendance were his parents, his older brother (with his daughters) and some family friends. In a pleasant surprise, Schneider also ran into his former Little League coach, Carlos Hendricks.
“I almost didn’t recognize him. He came out of the dugout and was like, ‘Hey, Johnny!’” Schneider said. “I spent some time with my parents (Sunday) night at their place (in Pennington), which was cool. You don’t get a chance to catch up with your family when you’re away for so long, so it’s kind of a unique experience to be here with people I grew up with.”