OverDrive - Schneider on the Blue Jays' season views, the coaching mindset and topping the division

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Schneider joined OverDrive to discuss the Blue Jays' spark throughout the season, the mindset of the roster over the triumphant stretch, the series win against the Yankees, the switch of the team's pedigree, how the AL East is shaped, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s leadership and more.

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PureFiber Internet, they wondered why they didn't sooner. Switch to the most reliable internet technology with Bell PureFiber with plans starting at $60 a month with a two-year term. Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell. Internet just got better. Here he is, the manager of the Blue Jays, John Schneider. How you doing John? Hello, what's up? I'm doing well here in lovely Detroit. Yes, you should be I mean when you hear your team described as the hottest team in baseball How does that feel? it's nice man, I mean the guys have been playing well for a while and

you know, there's there's still a you know, a ton of games left, but We've been doing this for a while and it's been a really good, another good home stand after winning 11 in a row there and based on another really good team for the next four years. So it's nice to hear that and I'm just really pleased with the way the guys are going about it every day. Did you happen to catch any replay of when Boone got ejected, the camera panning over to you and the dugout and what kind of facial expression and body language you had going? Did you see that?

I did not. Was I laughing or was I, what was I doing? You couldn't have looked more calm and casual. And then there's Boone losing his mind. And I have to think that like you're watching that and you're like, well, I know what that's like. I've done that pretty recently. Was it kind of nice to be on the other end of it, just chilling in the dugout?

Yeah, yeah. You kind of take some mental notes too, so you kind of know what you look like when you do lose your mind a little bit. Yeah, I think that it was, you know, it was kind of right in front of us too. Boonee managed way over kind of towards our dugout. But yeah, I try to keep a straight face.

He's been known for some pretty good ones and pretty entertaining ejections. So I think kind of in that moment, I was kind of just observing. Yes, I think everybody was just observing at that point. And you take two out of three against the Yankees the last few nights, you swept them four straight a couple weeks ago. That's six of seven against the Yankees. Why do you think or why have you had the number of New York? You know, we match up pretty similarly, but in different ways, if that makes sense.

You know, they're kind of built with the long ball and their starters. And I think we did a really good job against their starters, both, you know, this past series and the four-game or a couple weeks ago. We did a really good job of putting the ball in play and putting pressure on the defense. You know, we're a tough team to strike out. And I think when you put the ball in play and putting pressure on the defense. You know, it's, we're a tough team to strike out. And I think when you put the ball in play, good things happen. So we made, um, we had some really good pitching performances too. Um, but from both starters and relievers and, you know, not your typical relievers,

you know, we had, you know, guys up and down the kind of depth chart of the bullpen come in and get some big outs, you know against those guys and Um, I don't know if you have their number per se, you know, I feel like every game is tight against them And uh, and we kind of made a few more plays than they did john obviously, uh, nobody's really uh, Angrily second-guessing the manager on a on a day after you win But you know there was some second guessing last night about the eternal second guessing question of why did you pitch to Aaron Judge with a

man on base, the Yankees down a couple of runs and he did it to you again as he's done to many teams for many years. What goes into those decisions against a player of that magnitude? Yeah, it's not a perfect science, you know. It kind of changes every single situation. And you know, of course you're kicking yourself because, I mean, we're talking about an elite talent, you know, and I got so much respect for the way he does it, you know, day in and day out. And in that situation, you're thinking it's a sixth inning Chris had

handled them well the previous two at bats but you can't put you can't put all your stock in that you know what I mean you're always trying to think of the what could and you know with a base open there you know I kind of trusted Krista you know at the very least maybe pitch around to me just missed a spot and Judge doesn't miss you know when the ball is in the middle of the plate so it's it's tough. We talk about situations before the game with him specifically. I think you have to give credit to Ben Rice behind him,

who took the lead in the ninth inning off the day before. And I didn't want to bring the go-ahead run into the box there with a team that's built for home runs. So it's, again, I know that I have the most intentional walks against him in the last couple years And it's worked out sometimes and it hasn't sometimes but you know the last night I thought there was enough game for us to come back and you know If the worst case was a tie game, I thought you know Our guys could come back and score some runs and they did

Yeah, they did you end up winning that game with John Schneider ahead of other series in Detroit. Bassett you know spoke on the aggressiveness of your team after the game and about those habits that you know you guys have been getting a lot of love for recently and you know forcing the opposition to make mistakes and being on your toes and whether it's the bats you know running the bases, the arms, like that

attitude of being aggressive, how does that apply to the way you approach Judge throughout the series? Because you let Scherzer go at him, you know you let Gosman go at him, it's not, you're not going to intentionally walk him, you know, 15 times over three nights, but you seemingly let your guys for the most part, challenge him. Like, is that a part of the team culture that you're trying to apply here? Like, you gotta stay on your toes

and you gotta be aggressive. Yeah, I mean, we've been playing that way for a while now. And I think that's kinda how we're built. We have the personalities and the talent to do that, you know? So in terms of him in particular, you know, it's not like it's an automatic home run, you know what I mean?

It seems like it more often than not, but I trust guys to make pitches, and that's kind of the name of the game. You make pitches and you're good, and if you make mistakes, you know, the possibility of something bad happening goes up, you know, so you know that. But I think in, I like the way that,

I know Chris spoke to it after the game, I want these guys to be aggressive. I want them to have the confidence to get people out. I want them to have the confidence to get a guy over, get a guy in, hit the ball at the ballpark. I think just overall, the way that guys are kind of flying around the field, you look at George scoring from first on Vlad's double, you look at, you know,

Schneid scoring from second on George's hit to right the day before. These guys aren't taking anything for granted. And they're, and we're playing really good defense. I mean, Leo Jimenez and Ernie at second, Vlad, he made a couple great plays at first. Our outfield, you know, seemed to make all the plays as well. So I think that's kind of what we talk about more.

It's kind of how do we use our skills the best to help us win every single night. And when you have not only the talent to do it and the ability to do it, you get the effort and the kind of attention to detail with it and the anticipation, it's just so fun to watch, you know, it's, it kind of gets contagious. Um, guys are flying down the line on ground balls, you know, putting pressure on the infield. That's how we play. You know, that's how we want to be known.

You know, when a team is getting ready for us, we want them to know that this is what, this is what the effort and this is what the aggressiveness is going to be. Is there a moment throughout the season so far that you can point to where you can say that all that stuff you just talked about, you know, the team really kind of buying into what they're supposed to be doing, the guys who are having bounce back seasons, like did that just click or has that just been a steady build from spring training and everyone kind of coming back, maybe a little pissed off with the way last season went? Yeah, I think it started in spring, you know what I mean?

I remember the first full day, I had about, you know, you have your meeting at the beginning of camp with the whole group there, and sometimes it's long, sometimes it's short, and this was my shortest meeting as a manager. It was probably about 45 seconds or 60 seconds, and all I said is, you know, last year we need to learn from,

we need to focus on what's important now, and what's important every single day to win. And I need everyone in this room to be you and not try to be anything you're not. And that was it, you know what I mean? So if it's, if you make contact, I want you to make contact. If you hit home runs, I want you to hit home runs.

If you can strike guys out, I want you to strike them out. If you can be an elite defender, I want you to be an elite defender. And they kind of grasped onto that. You know, after last year, you know, guys were pissed, myself included. It was a tough year. But you have to learn from it.

You know, we had tons of conversations as a coaching staff, front office, and with the players about how we can get better. And it's been really cool to kind of be aligned in all that and player feedback is huge. And we got a lot of veteran guys here. So we've changed some things that we do. You know what I mean? We've been pretty adamant about that.

And it's working. And I think when you have really good communication from top to bottom guys understand the roles they're understanding what I'm asking of them what the coaches are asking of them and what they're asking you know what they're holding each other accountable to you know that's that's when you really see it click so when you're when you're focused on what do I need to do to help my team win today usually good things happen for you individually and then for the team.

Hey John, it's been a little more than three years now since you took this role, replacing Charlie Montoya mid-season. And I've been fascinated to kind of hear you sort of reflecting about the way you've evolved as a manager over that time. I mean, how would you sum up the way you've grown into this position over the years?

Yeah, I mean, looking back, you know, it takes, it takes reps, you know what I mean? And, you know, taking over midway through the season, you're kind of flying by the seat of your pants, right? You're just, you're trying to just win every single game and looking back, you know, to where I was and kind of who I was, you know, my first full year to where I am now is totally different. You know, it's, I remember, you know, you're trying to kind of please everyone.

You're trying to please the front office. You're trying to please the players. You're trying to please the media. You know, when you kind of get caught in a, you know, in a little bit of a hamster wheel, you're just kind of doing the same thing every single day. So where I've gotten to, you know,

you're just more comfortable as a manager. You've gone through, you've gone through things that you've well, and you've gone through things that you've messed up You know what I mean, and I've if you're not paying attention to those things you know the game is going to fly right by and There's going to be mistakes you know from players are going to be mistakes for me You know I mean, and he's got to be accountable to it so it's how you kind of adjust from that is I think what makes you better. And the more you do it,

the more comfortable you get with it. The easier it is to talk to the media twice a day, the easier it is to tell a guy that something isn't acceptable or to have tough conversations. You know what I mean? And players, they deserve that and they want that. So when you're around guys for a number of years

like I've been fortunate to be, and then you have a staff that has kind of been together for a while, you all kind of function at a higher level. And I think that's kind of where we landed right now. And definitely all the things that I've been through have gotten me to where I am today, and I'm going to continue to go through them just like any manager is. How comfortable are you with seemingly a different leadoff hitter every night? It's kind of funny I mean perfect world you just read the same line about every day you know and that's

kind of not how we're built it's not how a lot of teams are built now so it was I think when when I moved Bo to the four spot from the one I think is where we kind of took off a little bit and not not saying that it was my, you know, my doing that we took off, but just trying, you know, just that's an example of me being different to where it's like, Hey, Bo, you, you are obviously one of the best hitters with letters of scoring position in major league baseball. Let's take advantage of that. And then him saying, absolutely, let's do whatever we can for the team. Um, but you need guys to perform. You know what I mean? You need Nate Lucas to have good at bats against Reddies

and you need Ernie or Schneider, whoever it is to have good at bats against Lefties. So it goes back to them just doing what they're good at and knowing what we're asking them to do. So we've gotten to the point to where guys kind of know, they know their roles. They know when they may pinch hit, they know when they're playing,

they know when they're not starting. It's fun. You know what I mean? It's the kind of the tactical part of the game has gotten fun when you have some interchangeable parts. We'll get you out of here on the question we talk about every single day and you know we're obviously buzzing about Vladdy and talking about Vladdy on a daily basis and you know his numbers. He was really productive throughout the series against the Yankees but you know he sits on 13 home

runs and it's the constant question how much power do you need from Vlad and you're the guy that ultimately needs to answer that on behalf of the team you know how do you respond to that question how much power do you need from Vlad down the stretch? I mean as much as we can get right is the easy answer and it's going to come. You know whether he ends up the year with thirteen homers which I doubt he will or if he ends the year with fifty. You know what I mean? We need him to be the player that he is and not try to be anything he's not. Vladdy has been blessed with unbelievable skills

and unbelievable talent so we just need him to continue to be part of this team. And I think he's grasped onto that as well. So when he gets on a heater, there's not many better than him in the game. And it's gonna come at some point. Vladdy hits the ball just about as hard as anyone in the sport. And it's literally a matter of inches

to where he connects with it, whether it's a home run or a double. So the power's gonna come, but again, he's been so, so integral in what we're doing from a culture standpoint, from a performance standpoint, and we just don't want him to put pressure on himself. So, some people that say, you know, Vladdy needs to hit 40, you know,

he's very well made by the end of the season, but what he's doing to help us win every single night is what we're looking for Well, I'm sure that continues this weekend. There'll be a lot of blue jay fans down there It's always a fun series four games against the Tigers, right? Absolutely. We have fans travel well, especially especially The closer drives and we we appreciate it. We appreciate the sports so much. Absolutely. Good luck this weekend. Thank you, John we appreciate the sport so much. Absolutely. Good luck this weekend. Thank you, John. Bye, fellas. Appreciate it. Thanks.

There he is, John Schneider, the manager of the Blue Jays. Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists raising the bar. Hi, this is Brian Adams. Hey, my name's Brett Emmons. I'm from the Glorious Sons. Hi, I'm Nellie Furtado. Made in Canada, the station that champions Canadian music.

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