Blue Jays manager John Schneider reflects on his own evolution

DUNEDIN, Fla. — John Schneider decided to get his first tattoo a few months ago. 

His wife, Jessy, has been inked several times but Schneider never felt the need to do the same. Last year, though, she got the names of their eight- and six-year-old sons, Gunner and Greyson, tattooed, and that stuck out to Schneider.

The 45-year-old had always said that if he was going to get work done, it would have to represent something very special. Then, one day early this year, he decided the time had come. 

The couple went to Jessy’s artist in Tampa, Fla., so that Schneider could get a matching tattoo of their boys’ names in cursive writing on his left forearm.  

“Whenever you’re doing something that’s permanent, you got to think about it,” Schneider says. “Why now? Life has twists and turns and, I don’t know, it’s just with where I am with my job, with where my kids are and their ages, it’s nice to really feel connected to them, even when you’re not with them. So, it just felt like the right time.”

His job, of course, is manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. And the time is, well, an interesting one, at least on the baseball front. 

Schneider is entering his third full season at the helm of the club after taking over as interim bench boss midway through the 2022 campaign. This is the last year of his three-year contract and while it’s a win-now season for Schneider, the same is true for pretty much the entire organization. 

The Blue Jays are staring down the impending free agencies of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, franchise cornerstones who are intrinsically linked to the team’s competitive window. Given the number of other players on expiring contracts, the pressure is on for the club to hit the ground running when its season begins on Thursday. 

Additionally, a segment of the fanbase has grown increasingly frustrated with a Blue Jays organization that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. Meanwhile, the teams that Schneider has presided over are 0-4 in the post-season, suffering wild-card round sweeps in both 2022 and ’23. 

In many ways, Schneider is the voice of the organization and he’ll also be the one tasked with keeping the train on the rails during this high-stakes 2025 campaign. Despite that, the skipper is not allowing himself to feel burdened.

In a wide-ranging interview toward the end of spring training, Schneider sat down with Sportsnet to chat about what he wants to do better this year and how he’s continuing to evolve. He opened up about trusting himself more. He reflected on the changing nature of the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. And, Schneider touched on his mentality heading into the season with an uncertain contractual future.  

Schneider’s 2025 story will unfold over the next several months but its foundation was actually laid at the conclusion of last year, a 74-88 fifth-place finish for the Blue Jays. 

When the manager went home for the off-season, he evaluated how he could get better at his own job and came away with conclusions that centred around strategy and communication. 

“When you look at our season last year, I think people say, ‘Health, unlucky, guys didn’t perform,’ right?” says Schneider. “Yeah, sure, you can say that, but when you break it down from my standpoint, it’s, ‘Could I have gained more platoon advantages?’ ‘Could I have gotten the starter out or left him in more or less?’ ‘Could I have set (left-handed reliever) Tim Mayza up against more lefties than righties and have him have more success?’ ‘Could I have communicated to guys better?’ 

“On paper, numbers will say it — probably was a little bit rigid with lineup construction and probably was a little bit rigid with pinch-hit opportunities and not deploying the bench as much as I probably could have,” he adds. “And then, you make adjustments for that.”

Schneider is a lifetime Blue Jay in the truest sense. Drafted by the organization in the 13th round in 2002, he spent six seasons as a catcher in the minors before transitioning into the rookie-ball hitting coach in 2008 and manager of the Gulf Coast Blue Jays the next year. 

He then climbed the ranks, winning championships along the way while building a strong managerial reputation. 

“John has consistently been one of the most positive influences I’ve been around,” says Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins. 

“He’s incredibly intelligent and open-minded with an intense passion for baseball and the Blue Jays. Those qualities have allowed him to improve every year as he has progressed throughout our organization. Baseball will constantly challenge you and present opportunities to improve yourself. John tackles those opportunities head-on and has developed into an important leader in baseball throughout the years.”

Schneider took over for Charlie Montoyo in July 2022 and, in his early days as a big-league manager, counted on longtime Cleveland skipper Eric Wedge — who’s also worked in the Blue Jays system — as a sounding board. 

These days, Schneider says he’ll also lean on pitching coach Pete Walker and associate manager DeMarlo Hale, but he’s undergone a bit of an internal evolution.

He understands what his needs are, such as having healthy debates and challenging voices around him, while at the same time Schneider has also begun to look inward. He’s more present with his own daily routines and trusts himself and his instincts on a deeper level than ever before. 

“Not being afraid, not being shy about sharing my opinions that I deem to be correct,” says Schneider. “Whether that’s with players, whether that’s with front office, whether that’s with media, whether that’s with coaching staff. Looking back, when you start this job, there’s so much that goes into it. And I can vividly remember trying to please a lot of people and probably letting more people down than I had hoped in my first full year in 2023. 

“So, I think just being more competent in what I think is important and letting people know that this is my f—ing opinion and you’re going to hear it.” 

How did that mentality develop?

“Kind of gradually?” answers Schneider. 

“With certain experiences or successes or failures, you ask, ‘Did I really say what I wanted to say there?’ ‘Was I direct and clear with what I wanted to say?’ You ask yourself those questions and I found myself saying, ‘Yes,’ more often than I did three years ago.” 

Schneider looks at his role as not only being a manager of players, but also of people and to do that, he needs to be adept at the “unquantifiable stuff.” He’s learned how to read the pulse of the clubhouse in different ways and was involved in conversations with the front office this past off-season on how to address needs that extended beyond the on-field product. 

Yes, the Blue Jays needed a home-run threat and swing-and-miss arms in the bullpen. But what else? 

The team could have benefited from different perspectives and that, in part, led to some of the decisions to bring in veteran right-hander Max Scherzer, outfielder Anthony Santander and infielder Andres Gimenez. These are players known for their competitiveness but who also inject an unquantifiable ingredient to the clubhouse. 

Schneider says he’s felt a corresponding change over the past few months. He sees it showing up in the details, like how players are communicating with each other or what the atmosphere is like on the team bus.  

“There are certain times where it feels different. And this is one of those times, since I’ve been here with the group that has been here, to where it feels different,” he says. 

“Really great teams or really good, sustainable teams have that consistency of not only talent but of camaraderie and chemistry. Chemistry is a real thing, no matter what anyone says. It is a real thing when you’re basically living with people for seven months. 

“It’s better than it was last year.”  

How that translates into wins is what’s important for the Blue Jays. It also could have a direct impact on Schneider’s future. 

Like Guerrero Jr. and Bichette, the manager is also entering his walk year, but he says he’s at peace with his situation and is in a different space now than in the past. 

It’s that type of sentiment that led him to get permanent ink on his left arm. 

“I like where I’m at in terms of where I am with this organization,” says Schneider. “I keep that private with contract stuff but my own confidence in myself has made me feel free, open, easy and excited for this year. 

“I am so entrenched in trying to win that the other stuff is really way far down the line in terms of what I’m focusing on. When you’re present in things that are important, everything else seems to take care of itself. I don’t view it any other way than that and I’m just looking forward to leading this team.”