After guiding the Toronto Blue Jays to two consecutive postseason appearances in 2022 and 2023, John Schneider’s club has regressed mightily this season. As a result, the skipper’s seat feels hotter than ever.
Sitting at 69-78, the Blue Jays aren’t mathematically out of playoff contention yet, but they’re awfully close. FanGraphs’ projections give Toronto a 0.0 percent chance of playing October baseball, highlighting how they’re on the brink of elimination.
When Toronto’s 2024 campaign concludes, Schneider is a “strong candidate” to get dismissed, per FanSided’s MLB insider Robert Murray. However, one ex-Blue Jays manager would ostensibly like to see him get another crack at it next year: John Gibbons.
Nowadays, Gibbons is the bench coach for the New York Mets. But previously, he was Toronto’s manager for 11 seasons across two different stints from 2004-08 and 2013-18. During that time, his bond with Schneider formed, as the latter was part of the Blue Jays’ farm system/minor-league coaching staff.
The Blue Jays recently concluded a three-game series against the Mets. But before they did, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic ($) caught up with Gibbons to discuss his kinship with Schneider.
Gibbons is a “big fan of Schneids,” as McGrath notes. The past and current Blue Jays managers have reportedly “stayed in touch over the years.” Clearly, there’s no bad blood, as demonstrated by the predecessor backing his inheritor.
“[Schneider’s] a good baseball guy. I feel his pain, man, when he takes heat,” Gibbons stated. “I mean, everybody in this business does, and I’ve been in those spots. They got to the postseason — we would have died for that years ago, right?
While the Blue Jays’ season hasn’t gone as fans and sportsbooks anticipated, Gibbons is “always rooting” for his “good friend,” Schneider. Albeit refreshing to hear the kind, encouraging words, the comments have no bearings on how things will play out in Toronto this fall.
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