Boys of summer
NWL BASEBALL: John Schneider returns for a second stint as manager of the Vancouver Canadians.
The Vancouver Canadians began defence of their shortseason single- A Northwest League baseball championship Friday in Salem- Keizer and will stage their home opener Wednesday night at Nat Bailey Stadium. The game is already sold out, and manager John Schneider is looking forward to playing in front of a full house at The Nat.
Schneider, 34, is a native of Princeton, N. J. He was a catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system for six years and rose as high as triple- A Syracuse. He retired after the 2007 season due to a series of concussions and became a coach.
We spoke to Schneider, who has the team off to a 3- 0 start including a 6- 1 win Sunday over Salem- Keizer, about his name, his thoughts on catching and other sundry matters.
Q The name John Schneider is a fairly common one. The two most notable examples would be the actor who played Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard and the Seattle Seahawks’ general manager. How often have you been asked about your acting career or been congratulated on drafting Russell Wilson and winning the Super Bowl?
A The Super Bowl has been the most recent one. It’s, “Hey man, I saw you with your shirt off after the Super Bowl.” If I’m good enough to be a minor- league manager and a Super Bowl- winning GM, then I’m doing something right, ha, ha. But, overall, it’s been more Dukes of Hazzard, especially when I was playing. I always heard the theme song from Dukes of Hazzard when I was hitting. I got called Bo Duke all the time. Good ol’ boy Bo Duke. I got all that stuff coming up.
Q Did Bo or Duke become your baseball or clubhouse nickname, then? Or did your teammates call you something else?
A Everyone just calls me Schneid. We joke that I lost my first name as soon as I signed, that John kind of went out the window. Players, coaches, everyone, they call me Schneid, with no S on the end. And no, I’m not related to the Devils goalie ( Cory Schneider) who used to play here in Vancouver.
Q When you caught, your concussions were caused by foul balls slamming into your mask. Other catchers have been injured during home- plate collisions — most notably the San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey, who broke his leg in 2011 — which caused Major League Baseball to change the rule this season for runners coming home. What are your thoughts on the new, safer rule? Do you welcome the change? Or did you enjoy that part of the game?
A Me, personally, I liked that part of the game. I think the more traditional baseball can be, the better off you’re going to be. But I understand what they’re doing, trying to make it safer. I think the big thing was the Buster Posey play where you got a prominent guy out for a long time and it affected the team. So you can see why they changed it. But I welcomed the home plate collisions. It was part of the position and part of the game. I’d like to think you have to be tough to play back there, just like a hockey goalie.
Q Back to your concussion issues, did you have to change masks? Maybe go from the traditional one to the hockey goalie style?
A I was wearing the helmet and mask and, actually, they made me wear the hockey mask after a few of the concussions — and it was almost worse for me. When the ball hit you, it was loud in your ears. I just came to the conclusion some guys are more prone to getting concussions than others. You see guys catch for 20 years and take foul balls every day and nothing happens. So it was just kind of unfortunate that it went that way for me.
Q It’s been well documented that you managed the C’s during the 2011 season until early August when you had to take a personal leave ( for a divorce). Did you get a championship ring for that year? Were you able to follow the team’s progress down the stretch and through the playoffs?
A Oh, yeah, I got a ring and I wore it on the flight up to Vancouver last Tuesday. I showed it to all the guys. I still followed the team really closely that year. I talked to ( assistant coaches) Jim Czajkowski and Dave Pano every day and, of course, I listened to Rob Fai’s play byplay at night. I followed every pitch of every game. It was tough at the time but, obviously, I’m way better off where I am now personally than where I was.