On July 13, 2022, the Toronto Blue Jays fired Charlie Montoyo as their manager and named John Schneider their interim skipper for the rest of the season.
That decision proved to be the right one with time, as Schneider took the underachieving Jays (to that point, at least) to second place in the AL East and a spot in the Wild Card series against the Seattle Mariners.
From when Schneider took over until the end of the regular season last year, he achieved a 46-28 record.
Toronto lost the Wild Card, but the front office saw enough from Schneider to sign him to a three-year extension with an option for a fourth year.
The Jays are 48-40 in 2023 and while they are fourth in the AL East, they are right in the middle of the playoff race in the American League.
The numbers, via Sportsnet Stats, say that the Jays have been a very competitive team since Schneider took over.
Blue Jays own the 5th best record in MLB since John Schneider became the manager#NextLevel pic.twitter.com/bmkF89PDis
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) July 7, 2023
The fifth-best record in baseball since taking over as the Jays skipper is nothing to sneeze at.
His Blue Jays have been better than the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, the up-and-coming Baltimore Orioles, and the San Diego Padres, among others.
A former catcher in the Blue Jays organization, Schneider accumulated enough experience dealing with personnel to use it, one day, as an MLB manager.
Some of the best skippers in the history of the game have been catchers: they have a particular way to approach the game and vast knowledge of it.
In this case, Schneider has been a great leader for the Jays.
Can he take the next step and make a deep postseason run this year?
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