OverDrive - Davis Schneider on the Blue Jays' playoff mentality, the ALDS against the Yankees and the role in the series

Episode Date: October 3, 2025

Blue Jays Outfielder and Infielder Davis Schneider joined OverDrive to discuss the Blue Jays advancing to the ALDS, the team's mentality throughout the season, gearing up for the Yankees and the battle in the series, his impact in the playoffs, how the team carry winning ways and more.

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davis schneider davis how many um beers did you waste or how many bottles of champagne did you waste in the clubhouse with your two celebrations uh there was a pretty good amount i feel like there was there's too much to count but uh i had definitely had a good time i know everyone else had a good time but you know obviously um it's not our angle has that was just kind of one of the first steps to you know to what we want to do is obviously win the world series so but you know We've got a couple more roadblocks on the way. Those celebrations, how long are they lasting? Are you wheeling out of the ballpark at 6 a.m.?

Like, how deep do those go into the night? I know George Springer was pretty fired up looking for police horses, but how deep did you guys take it and how was the recovery? It was pretty good. I didn't get anything like crazy hammered or anything like that. I'm not a big-time drinker, but obviously you want to have a good time with all the guys that are there. but it definitely wasn't 6 a.m. or anything like that.

We kind of got out of there. Most of our families and friends were there also too, so we had to meet up with them too, and we could be too messed up meeting with them, but it was definitely a good time. So, Davis, you guys wrap it up. Did you take a day or two to reflect on that and let the body reset and then it's back to work?

Or what was the work week like for you guys getting ready for this series? Yeah, I mean, it was definitely weird for me, because this is definitely my first time kind of experiencing this. But, you know, we had, like, an original day off on Monday after Sunday, so we didn't really do anything. It was just like a regular day off. And then Tuesday, come in, you know, kind of just do our work, whatever we kind of needed.

Then Wednesday, Thursday is when we did our two inter-squad games. So having the inter-squad games kind of helped just kind of getting back to, you know, seeing live pitching and, you know, kind of getting the game like as best we can. But, you know, today was just kind of like a last thing, whatever we kind of needed to work on. defense, you know, some extra, you know, bun plays and stuff like that. So just the little things.

But, you know, I feel like we're ready to go and, you know, excited to play against the Yanks. With David Schneider, the Blue Jays, Blue Jays Yankees game won tomorrow afternoon down at the Rogers Center. How much of the three-game wild card series did you watch between New York and Boston? I watched all three games. You know, you got to kind of see what, you know, how they're playing and, you know, get to see what

what team you're going to be playing because we thought we were going to play the Red Sox too So you kind of have to scout Obviously we have a bunch of scouting departments And everything like that But as a player I kind of wanted to just watch And see what they did and everything like that The motion they were showing and everything

So but And I'm a big baseball guy in general So I was just trying to watch all three games No matter what Well you get the Yankees And the Yankees are famous for stealing signs And your own manager pumped their tires a couple weeks ago,

said, hey, these guys do it as well as anybody. And you mentioned you were kind of watching, I don't know if that's something you were watching for, but how does that factor into how you prepare for this series, how kind of crafty the Yankees can be in terms of picking up on signs and relaying signs and possibly being prepared for pitches. Yeah, I mean, I, hats off to them, too. I mean, that's what you kind of want to do as a baseball team.

They're not even stealing signs. They're stealing what the pitcher's doing. And so it's like, if they were stealing signs, that's one thing, but they're not even stealing signs. They're stealing what the pitcher is trying to do. And, you know, that's what makes a good baseball team a good baseball team. They're trying to win no matter what. And I don't consider that cheating or Bush League or anything like that.

I think that's just them kind of trying to take advantage of what other teams are giving them. And they do a pretty good job at it, too. So obviously we've got to be more causing of it when we're out there. But I'm not like, you know, pissed that they're doing it like that. But, you know, they just find ways on how to take the edge over our other teams. Well, the reason you guys won the ALE East in the end is because you beat the Yankees more than you lost of the Yankees this year. Obviously, you should have confidence stacking up against them. But I'm curious what you think you might see differently from the Yankees in the playoffs that maybe you didn't see in the regular season.

Yeah, I feel like especially the series they put against Boston, they scored more runs. of not via the homer. They were kind of getting on base, you know, putting the pressure on the defense, on the Red Sox defense. And I feel like that's what you kind of need in the playoffs. And the Yankees were doing that in the three game series. But, you know, hopefully, you know, good defense, smart decision-making on the base passes is like what we kind of need to stop in.

So, you know, they can hit the long ball for sure. But, you know, we just got to make sure we kind of do the little things, making sure we're throwing to the right base, you know, not making, you know, clueless errors are out there, just making sure we're, you know, just being prepared for all nine innings. How is your preparation a little different going into Yankee Stadium? You know, we know that their fan base can get a little gritty

and they're chirping and stuff like that. So is it something that you definitely have to get your head wrapped around, maybe heading down there? For sure. I mean, even in Toronto, it's going to be loud. So I feel like just being on the same page communication-wise, whether that's like, you know, fly balls and everything like that. You've not been able to hear a lot of stuff.

out there. So we've got to make sure we're not even, we're yelling at each other, but we've got to make sure we're kind of doing like physical signs, like on like flyballs and, you know, making sure like we're kind of seeing who's got it. But, you know, we have a lot of guys who's kind of been in the playoffs on our team, George, Miles, himmy, a lot of the bass hits. So they kind of know what the playoffs are all about. But, you know, Yankee Stadium is a different animal. So it's going to be a, it's definitely going to be a fun one. Just, you know, Yankee fans are, are definitely crazy. assholes that sometimes, sorry for Curson, but you know, you just got to stick with it and,

you know, hopefully just kind of play through it and don't let them get, don't let them get to you. With Dave Schneider, so are you hoping that your fans bring the same heat? Like, what do you, you know, you said it's the first time you'll experience playoff baseball here in Toronto. I could tell you, I was there for Game 5 in 2015. That's the craziest stadium. All three of us were there when Bautista hit that home run and Jay's ended up beating the Rangers in game five.

That was the craziest thing I've ever experienced. in my life. I don't think you'll see it for first pitch tomorrow, but what kind of craziness do you expect out of your own fans in game one, two, and possibly game five? Yeah, and they've been great all year. I feel like they've been showing out. They've been packing that stadium for the whole year. But, you know, like you said, playoffs are a different animal. And I don't know, I don't think it would ever get to the Jose Baptiste moment, but hopefully it's going to be close to that. And, you know, the fans are great there. And they've been, like I said, great all year. Hopefully they can bring that energy tomorrow

and make sure the Yankees kind of feel that as well and put some pressure on them. How much do you look to George Springer in situations like these with his experience? And we were talking about him earlier, just being the engine of the Jays, like how important of a guy is he for you guys? It's great.

I mean, he's been great all year. Ever since he got caught up in 23, he's kind of been the leader in the clubhouse. And he's like a big guy of, all right, everyone don't panic you know just play the game like you know how to play it and i feel like you kind of need that um in a leader that tells people to you know calm down a little bit obviously you know nerves kind of get to some people but he makes he makes a lot of people less nervous just the way he kind of goes about it like because he's been there for how many years in the league

he's been in the playoffs for so many times and he's kind of seen all of it and he passes definitely a lot of wisdom down to every single one of them with david schnader it's going to be great to see you guys hit the field tomorrow. I'm sure you've been dreaming about this your whole life. We'll get you out of here with that question. Like what's it going to be like? Just get into the park tomorrow knowing you're about to play playoff baseball against the Yankees of all teams. Do you allow yourself to even dream of what that's going to feel like tomorrow? No, not really. I didn't really think about it until you can't. I mean, obviously I knew we were playing the Yankees, but you know, you dream about it as a kid and you're playing with football in your

backyard against, you know, your friends in your neighborhood and you're just dreaming about situations in the playoffs, you know, pages loaded, three-two count and all that stuff. And, you know, I've been a baseball fan my whole life, and this is going to be definitely a cool moment and get to share of my teammates and my family. They're going to come up too. So it's going to be an exciting one. But, you know, this is what you live for, it's what you play for, and, you know, we're definitely ready for it. Can't wait. Best of luck this weekend throughout the whole divisional series and beyond that. we really appreciate you doing this. Thank you, Davis.

Yeah, thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Have a going on. You got it. Davis Schneider of the Toronto Bluejays. The newest tracks and the next big thing. Look what we found. And your first place to hear it all is iHeart, new music, your digital station for brand new drops, fresh finds, and tomorrow's bangers. Updated daily. IHeart, new music, powered by All Things Go Festival.

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