The Toronto Blue Jays took hold of the spotlight in the postseason and are now holding onto it with the recognition that individuals are receiving for their regular season performances, which started with their Gold Glove finalists, then moved onto five nominations for Silver Slugger Awards with George Springer walking away with his third.
On Tuesday, it was time for their manager John Schneider to step into the light as he was rightfully named a finalist as American League Manger of the Year. Schneider was up against Stephen Vogt from the Cleveland Guardians and Dan Wilson from the Seattle Mariners. Both were also division title winners and there is no argument about the excellent seasons that their ballclubs had.
However, it was the Blue Jays who finished with the best record in the AL at 94-60 which finished four full games ahead of Seattle and six over Cleveland. The postseason accolades don’t count for MLB awards, but the regular season was easily enough to solidify Schneider’s victor.
How does a manager who led his team from last place in the division just a year ago to first not win this accolade? Instead it was Vogt after the historic comeback the Guardians had to take the AL Central. Vogt ended up with 17 first-place votes compared to Schneider’s 10, and the final tally was 113-91.
2024 Blue Jays vs. 2025 Blue Jays
Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
It was the Jays’ bats that led them to the season that they had and their first division title in over a decade. But what is surprising was that this was nearly the same roster as 2024. In fact the only recognizable name in the hitting line up that was new is No. 9 hitter, Andrés Giménez who the Jays traded for in December of 2024.
Schneider’s ability to manage the same group of guys to a 20-game turnaround in one offseason is nearly unfathomable. The team went from last in the division to first led by their offense which tallied up more doubles, home runs, RBI, less strikeouts and a better slash line in every aspect.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 74-88 | 98-68 |
| Division Ranking | Last | First |
| Postseason | N/A | Lost World Series (4-3) |
| Runs Scored | 671 | 798 |
| Total Hits | 1306 | 1461 |
| Doubles | 280 | 294 |
| Triples | 26 | 13 |
| Home Runs | 156 | 191 |
| RBI | 640 | 771 |
| Drawn Walks | 510 | 520 |
| Total Strikeouts | 1233 | 1099 |
| Batting Average | .241 | .265 |
| On-Base Percentage | .313 | .333 |
| Slugging Percentage | .389 | .427 |
| OPS | .703 | .761 |
Now it might have been the bats that were on highlight reel after highlight reel, but a few key moves happened with the pitching staff and that started with trading for Shane Bieber at the trade deadline. Without him in the postseason the team could have missed out on a trip to the World Series all together.
Eric Lauer was another move that could be pointed to as a great decision as he was primarily used as a starter, but then moved into relief. It wasn’t because he was doing poorly. The bullpen needed help as that could have been the Achilles to the 2025 season, but it wasn’t.
While moves during the postseason don’t count it is hard to glance over what happened with starting pitcher Chris Bassitt who came out of the bullpen after he carried the workload in the starting rotation. However, he embraced that role and was nearly flawless.
Schneider was nothing but excellent this season and that is why the organization picked up the 2026 option on his contract. The team is looking to redeem itself next season and the higher ups know that without him none of this would have been possible. Even though it is an honor just to be nominated, it truly feels he should have claimed the award.
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