Why Blue Jays extended manager John Schneider ahead of the 2026 season

The Toronto Blue Jays extended manager John Schneider just days before Opening Day, for two extra seasons, after he had only a season remaining on his contract before the extension.

After leading the franchise to its first World Series appearance since 1993, of course, it makes sense for the team to want to keep Schneider around for the long haul, but there are other reasons beyond the 2025 AL pennant.

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Reasons why the Blue Jays extended Schneider

Since Schneider took over in the middle of the 2022 season, the Blue Jays have been consistent contenders for the most part, making the postseason in two of the three full seasons he has been under the helm, compared to the team's previous manager, Charlie Montoyo, who only led the team to one postseason appearance in five seasons, in which the appearance came in the shortened season of 2020.

Another reason justifying the move is the difference in how the team shows up for Schneider compared to how the team's managers showed up in the past. The former catcher has been on the record many times, cutting it straight about his team's performance, whether good or bad, and that is something anyone can appreciate, let alone a group of professionals.

Players have also given Schneider high praise from his players on how he is just as great a person as he is a manager, with him being very relatable to players and having a family-first approach, which proves that it doesn't matter how great a baseball mind one can be if the players don't want to give their all for them. Schneider has mastered that, which is why he will be the manager of the Blue Jays for quite some time.

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