Blue Jays' John Schneider Lands on Former MLB Exec's Ballot for Coveted Award
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There have been a lot of pleasant surprises during the 2025 MLB regular season, but none may be better than the Toronto Blue Jays.
Coming into the campaign, manager John Schneider was viewed as someone whose job could be in jeopardy. He was squarely on the hot seat, along with the front office tandem of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins. All three needed the team to perform at a high level on the field to ensure they would not lose their jobs at any point.
Working under that kind of pressure isn’t something everyone is capable of doing. But Schneider has done a wonderful job of keeping calm, cool and collected despite some bumps in the road. It is why he deserved his spot on the Manager of the Year ballot that Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) put together.
John Schneider Deserves Manger of the Year Consideration
The former MLB executive has Schneider as the runner-up for the award behind A.J. Hinch of the Detroit Tigers. Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox finished third. It will be interesting to see how things play out, but the Blue Jays' head man is deserving of the award.
Early on, inconsistency plagued his team. Toronto was unable to string together successful stretches. They would win three or four games in a row and then lose just as many. A 12-8 start to the season was quickly undone by losing eight of nine games, dropping their record to 13-16.
Another three-game winning streak was compiled to get back to the .500 mark. Unfortunately, a four-game losing streak ensued, dropping them back below. Yo-yoing around being a .500 team occurred throughout May. On the 27th, they lost to the Texas Rangers 2-0, falling to 26-28. Two days later, they were nearly halfway through a five-game winning streak that turned their campaign around.
May 29 was the last day the Blue Jays were under the .500 mark, and they destroyed the Athletics 12-0. Since that point, the team has taken off. Fast forward to today, and Toronto is in first place in the American League East with an 89-63 record. Four games clear of the New York Yankees, the Blue Jays are rapidly moving toward their first division title since 2015.
Good morning from your 27 games over .500 Toronto Blue Jays! #lightsupletsgo pic.twitter.com/9HytpfkmOz
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 17, 2025
Schneider deserves a lot of credit for how he has handled things this year. It hasn’t always been the smoothest ride. There have been bullpen woes to overcome and late-game meltdowns. Their biggest free agent addition, designated hitter Anthony Santander, gave the team nothing before landing on the injured list.
What Schneider has been doing with his pitchers recently has been a stroke of genius. He is hitting a lot of buttons, and all of them are working. Deploying star prospect Trey Yesavage is the latest success he has found with his pitching staff.
The job is not yet done with the AL East not yet officially clinched. Schneider knows that and will continue to motivate the guys along the way. Finding this amount of success despite star shortstop Bo Bichette currently being sidelined is another feather in his cap to bolster his resume to win the award.
