John Schneider, the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, placed second in the American League Manager of the Year voting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, with Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians taking the top spot. Schneider led the Blue Jays to a successful season with 94 wins and clinching the American League East Division title. He secured 10 out of 30 first-place votes, accumulating a total of 91 points. Vogt, who guided the Guardians to the AL Central crown, received 17 first-place votes and 113 points. Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners was also a finalist, garnering two first-place votes and 50 points.
This marks Vogt’s second consecutive year winning the award, while Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers also retained his title for the National League. Under Schneider’s leadership, the Blue Jays recorded 20 more wins compared to the previous season, where they finished in last place in 2024. The team went on to win two playoff rounds before ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Notably, Bobby Cox remains the only Blue Jays manager to have previously won this prestigious award back in 1985. Schneider’s second-place finish is the highest achieved by a Toronto skipper since Cito Gaston’s runner-up position in 1989 behind Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles. Schneider, who took over as the Blue Jays manager in July 2022 following Charlie Montoyo, recently had his contract’s 2026 option year exercised.
Extension discussions for Schneider are in progress, as confirmed by general manager Ross Atkins during a post-season media briefing. Atkins commended Schneider as a strong leader within the organization and expressed his pride in working alongside him. Schneider, a native of Princeton, N.J., helped lead the Blue Jays to the wild-card series in his debut season as manager, although they were swept by the Seattle Mariners. The following year, the team suffered another sweep, this time against the Minnesota Twins, before a challenging 74-win season in 2024.
In 2025, the Blue Jays made a remarkable comeback with improved offense and pitching consistency, securing the East title via tiebreaker against the New York Yankees. The team went on to defeat the Yankees in the AL Division Series and the Mariners in the AL Championship Series. The Blue Jays fell short in a 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Dodgers in the World Series.
Schneider has a longstanding history with the Toronto franchise, initially drafted by the Blue Jays in the 13th round of the 2002 draft. After retiring as a player in 2007, he joined the organization as a catching instructor and eventually took on managerial roles within the minor-league system. Schneider’s success with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2018, where he was named Eastern League manager of the year, led to his promotion to the major-league coaching staff in 2019. Subsequently, he was appointed as the bench coach for the 2022 season. Schneider is the 14th manager in the Blue Jays’ history since the team’s inception in 1977.
