JOHN SCHNEIDER THE MANAGER
I tried to win. I tried to match up in the bullpen. I wanted the guys to feel what winning was like.
The story of how John Schneider became a coach is one of legend and fits the personable 14th manager in franchise history to a T.
As Schneider describes it, in 2008 it was time to abandon a mediocre playing career as a minor-league catcher and immediately jump into coaching. That year, he joined the rookie-level Gulf Coast League as a catching instructor and thus began a steady ascent through the Jays system.
By 2018, fresh off winning a Florida State League championship with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Schneider was handed the keys to a Manchester clubhouse that was to be populated with one of the best minor-league teams the Jays had ever assembled.
“I said thank you for the opportunity when they gave me the roster and thank you for trusting me,” Schneider said. “It ended up working out, but it was definitely a challenge.
“When we broke camp, we knew what we had, we knew that we were good. So it was, A, how do we not mess up their development and keep doing what they need to get better; and, B, since it was a unique opportunity, it was a good time to try to hammer home how to win, how to be a good teammate and how to be a leader on your team.
“It was an opportunity to do something pretty cool with a great group, and we tried to nail it as best we could.”
Along the way, there was a balancing act for Schneider.
On one hand, the players were young and had to be managed with a big brother's touch at times. On the other, with such visible upside, they had to be pushed in their routines to maximize progress.
“You're always thinking development,” Schneider said. “I was lucky enough to have these guys for consecutive years, so I tried to walk the tightrope of winning and developing, just because we knew these guys were going to be good.
“I tried to win. I tried to match up in the bullpen. I wanted the guys to feel what winning was like. I felt like it just breaks up the monotony of the minor leagues when you're having team success. I tried to do some things you probably wouldn't do in the minor leagues, but that we felt were important for them to learn at the time.
“The workday was the development part, and game time was our `let's go out and win' time.”
That mindset wasn't lost on the players and staff, as hitting coach Hunter Mense articulates.
“The thing I learned really quickly about Schneids is he always had the long game in mind of how this is going to play out during the year,” Mense said. “It wasn't an in-yourface leadership. It was very caring, easy to talk to with the players and easy to talk to for me.
“It was conviction while being laid-back. That even-keeled nature really resonated with me. I don't know if all big-league managers are approachable and that easy to talk to. His ability to connect with anybody and everybody has always been admirable.”
Then there was the horse trainer element of the assignment — managing a group of highstrung baseball thoroughbreds and keeping them on task.
“There was a lot of talent on the team, and he did a great job corralling that talent and teaching everyone that winning is the most important thing,” Romano said. “You're in the minors and you care about your stats because you want to go up to the next level, but he made it a real culture about team and winning first. He'd tell us that when you're winning, good things will happen.
“He was very similar to how he is now. He always had our backs down there.”
Having their backs meant some epic blowups with umpires, including a few that are still fondly recalled by the current group — thrown helmets, chasing the occasional ump off the field, blowups that became the stuff of legend.
“He was definitely a players' manager, and he had a good feel for the minor leagues being a grind, giving us days here and there not to do as much when he felt it was necessary,” Bichette said. “He had an understanding that the minor leagues aren't fun all of the time.”
Fast forward to the present, as Schneider embarks on his second full season in the Jays' managerial chair. The relationships forged then remain today, albeit with a different dynamic.
“It's weird now being in this position,” Schneider said. “You try not to be a different person, but there are things that change. You have different pressures. You have different people who are giving you information and you have different ways you have to navigate through your day.
“But understanding that was six years ago and times were different, at the end of the day, they're still who they are and I'm still who I am.”