John Schneider

John Patrick Schneider (born February 14, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach who is the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He became a coach for the Blue Jays in 2019 and became interim manager on July 13, 2022. After the 2022 season, the Blue Jays hired him as their permanent manager. Prior to coaching, Schneider played six seasons as a catcher in the Blue Jays minor league organization. Playing career Born in Princeton, New Jersey and raised in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Schneider graduated from Lawrence High School in 1998. He attended the University of Delaware and played college baseball for the Fightin' Blue Hens. In three seasons, he batted .306 with 23 home runs and 139 runs batted in (RBIs). In 2001, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Schneider was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 24th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign, and was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 13th round of the 2002 draft. He was assigned to the Short Season-A Auburn Doubledays for the 2002 season, and hit .240 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. The following year, Schneider played for the Class-A Charleston AlleyCats and the Triple-A Syracuse SkyChiefs, and batted .188 with 14 RBIs in 59 games. Schneider played the entire 2004 season with the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays, appearing in 58 games and batting .206 with six home runs and 28 RBIs. With Dunedin in 2005, he hit .321 in 22 games and was promoted back to Triple-A Syracuse, but struggled to a .179 average through 34 games with the SkyChiefs. Schneider played at three different minor league levels in 2006, including the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, but was limited to 34 games due to back surgery. He retired after the 2007 minor league season, due to three concussions suffered during the season. Coaching career After retiring as a player, Schneider was hired by the Blue Jays organization as a catching instructor. In 2008, he became the manager of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. Schneider was promoted to manage the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians on December 1, 2010, and became the youngest manager in team history at 30 years of age. In 2011, he managed the Canadians, but took a personal leave of absence during the season. Vancouver won the league's championship in 2011.