{"id":154905,"date":"2025-09-19T13:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/154905\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T13:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:08:08","slug":"why-regular-dude-davis-schneider-will-take-on-any-job-to-help-the-blue-jays-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/154905\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ‘regular dude’ Davis Schneider will take on any job to help the Blue Jays win"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 A couple hours before Davis Schneider<\/a> sent a high fastball over the wall for his 11th\u00a0home run of the 2025 season, he ate a pre-game bowl of what his Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> teammate Myles Straw calls \u201cnasty soup.\u201d The ingredients were Reese\u2019s Pieces, blackberries, protein powder and chocolate milk, all stirred together. \u201cI tell him all the time that you couldn\u2019t pay me a lot of money to eat what he eats,\u201d Straw says, crinkling his nose. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to watch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daulton Varsho couldn\u2019t agree more. The centre fielder can\u2019t believe what Schneider mixes with tuna, which includes everything but the kitchen sink and, to Varsho\u2019s nose, \u201csmells disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the pre-game nutrition that fuels the moustachioed utilityman on Toronto\u2019s roster whose appetite is as unique as his role on the team. Schneider has been a fan favourite ever since an early rookie campaign saw him put up numbers at the plate historic enough to earn himself the nickname \u201cBabe Schneider.\u201d But since he\u2019s settled back down to earth, he\u2019s owning his role on a very deep American League-leading club that has spent the season handling injuries and jockeying players like him between various positions. Toronto\u2019s pick at 849thoverall in the 2017 draft, Schneider has played left field, second base, and third (for one game) this season, and been called on lately to pinch-hit against lefties, adding rare and valuable lineup flexibility that has been a key to Toronto\u2019s success. And in the process he\u2019s shown a willingness to do whatever his team needs to get a win.<\/p>\n

\"WatchWatch Blue Jays vs. Royals on Sportsnet<\/p>\n

The Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Catch the action on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+, starting at 7:40 p.m. ET \/ 4:40 p.m. PT. <\/p>\n

Broadcast schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m sure if you ask him to play short or centre field, he would want to,\u201d says George Springer. \u201cI think everything he does, he does 100 per cent. And that’s awesome. He kind of exemplifies everything that we need out of a player.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schneider considers himself \u201ckind of a journeyman\u201d as a player, and the 26-year-old believes most other teams would\u2019ve released him before he made the big leagues. He had stretches when he didn\u2019t play much in the minors, and saw players with better stats let go by their teams. \u201cBut the Blue Jays stuck with me,\u201d Schneider says, sitting in the team\u2019s dugout on a recent sunny afternoon, and he in turn has worked to stick with the Blue Jays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have that many at-bats, but there\u2019s always got to be that guy on the team that plays whenever he can \u2014 and I love playing for this team,\u201d Schneider says. \u201cSo, I\u2019ve always got to be ready to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schneider is one of a cast of Blue Jays who is always ready but doesn\u2019t always go. As a player called upon to deliver at any given moment, he routinely faces one of the toughest tasks in baseball, but one that could prove hugely important for his team down the stretch and beyond. Being in and out of the lineup isn\u2019t for the faint of heart. Just ask anyone who\u2019s done it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in that situation where you don\u2019t play every day and you\u2019re kind of thrown into the fire once or twice a week, and it\u2019s really, really difficult,\u201d says infielder Ernie Clement, who points to Toronto\u2019s deep roster as the reason Schneider isn\u2019t regularly in the lineup. \u201cHe could easily be in there every day playing left or second, and right now we need him to hit his lefties and play a couple times a week and be ready to go. But he always seems to be ready to play and it\u2019s really valuable when you have a player who can do that, because it\u2019s not easy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to prepare because you\u2019re preparing for a lot of guys in the bullpen, so you have to be ready whenever your name is called,\u201d Varsho adds. \u201cThat, for him, can be any time, any night. It\u2019s really hard to do. Pinch hitting is literally the toughest thing to do in our sport, and he does a really good job at it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schneider is averaging 4.48 pitches per plate appearance, which means he works his at-bats longer than Marcell Ozuna (4.45) and Mike Trout (4.45), MLB\u2019s top qualified hitters in the category. And only seven qualified hitters have a higher walk rate than Schneider\u2019s 14.7 per cent.\u00a0\u201cThe at-bat that he always has is very competitive,\u201d says Blue Jays hitting coach, David Popkins. \u201cIt’s either a lot of pitches or something that he hits really hard. Even when he strikes out, it’s usually a 3-2 count. And those at-bats are contagious.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this team has shown that anybody can be a hero any night. This hasn’t been a team that’s relied on any one person to carry us for an extended period of time,\u201d Popkins adds. \u201cHe’s shown that, and I think he can definitely do that again. He’s had games that he has literally won for us with his at-bats and his swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TorontoToronto Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider (36) reacts in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Yankees in the first inning of a home game in early July. (Photo by Sammy Kogan\/CP)<\/p>\n

Schneider has also been winning over fans of Canada\u2019s team since his first game in August 2023, when he became just the fourth Blue Jay to hit a home run in his debut big league at-bat. (Schneider then tied the MLB record with nine hits in his first three games, and carried a ridiculous, MLB best-ever\u00a01.315 OPS through his first 25.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe start he got off to in 2023, it was historic. I think that just gives something for people to grasp onto, almost like a little bit of a folk hero,\u201d says John Schneider, the Blue Jays\u2019 manager, who\u2019s been asked too many times if he\u2019s related to Schneider the player (that\u2019s a no). \u201cThis is a really likeable team and he\u2019s one of the driving forces behind it. He\u2019s a really likeable guy, and he is about as blue-collar, average Joe-looking as you can get.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was back in 2023 that Schneider first saw fans wearing a replica of his moustache on the jumbotron at the Rogers Centre, \u201cmostly middle-aged women and kids,\u201d he says. \u201cFans love the moustache a little more than I thought they would.\u201d Credit is due to one of the team\u2019s trainers, Voon Chong, who has voluntarily taken on the role of trimming Schneider\u2019s \u201cnasty soup\u201d strainer. \u201cHe really likes it,\u201d Schneider says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the funniest thing ever when you get the older women in the stands who are wearing their moustaches to the game,\u201d says Clement, who\u2019s also Schneider\u2019s roommate. \u201cThat\u2019s my favourite thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Varsho thinks Schneider\u2019s moustache took off because the movie\u00a0Top Gun: Maverick\u00a0came out the year before, also featuring a solid moustache or two. \u201cTheir timing was kind of aligned,\u201d Varsho says, with Schneider and one of the movie\u2019s stars, actor Miles Teller.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Straw has observed that while walking around the city with Schneider, \u201cthere\u2019s not a lot of people that don\u2019t recognize him.\u201d He chalks that up to the following factors: \u201cThe moustache, he hits bombs and has good aura.\u201d Clement ranks Schneider the third-most recognized Blue Jays player, behind only Vladdy and Bo, who don\u2019t even need second names. Springer has this to say about Schneider: \u201cHe\u2019s one of a kind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

All the attention remains a shock to the Blue Jay with the boldest moustache, however. \u201cI\u2019m just a regular dude,\u201d Schneider says, with a shrug. \u201cI still live with my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not kidding, at least during the off-season. The address he returns to every winter is his parents\u2019 place in the little town of Berlin, New Jersey, where every one of the fewer than 8,000 residents knows everyone else. Schneider still sleeps in his childhood basement bedroom. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to move out eventually,\u201d he says \u201cso\u2026.\u201d Maybe even this off-season. \u201cI love going back home. I hate going on vacations in off-seasons. My vacation is being home around my childhood friends, my dog and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schneider brings all of this up to explain further why he remains flummoxed about the attention that surrounds him in Toronto. \u201cI don\u2019t drive a crazy car or wear expensive things or anything like that. I wear sweatpants \u2014 and jeans, once in a while,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m a regular guy from a small town, and I guess people enjoy that about me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only since June, however, that Blue Jays fans have been able to see Schneider live and in action semi-regularly. After a tough start at the plate, in mid-April he was optioned to the Triple-A Bisons, then called back up after an injury to Varsho. Schneider says the demotion was necessary to get more at-bats and return to what makes him a difficult out at the plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He feels he\u2019s at his best when he\u2019s not thinking about swing mechanics. He emulates the batting stances of the game\u2019s big stars, like Alex Rodriguez most recently, as well as Aaron Judge and Will Smith, not only because it\u2019s funny but because it occupies his mind. \u201cWhen you think about your swing in baseball, I feel you\u2019re going to get yourself into trouble,\u201d Schneider says. \u201cIf I\u2019m thinking about my stance, where am I holding my hands, I kind of get my mind focused on that and then I just react at that point \u2014 and baseball is all about that reaction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TorontoToronto Blue Jays’ utilityman Davis Schneider makes a play to first base against the New York Yankees in late June. (Photo by Thomas Skrlj\/CP)<\/p>\n

Whether Schneider is called upon to react in any more big moments this season remains to be seen. Down the stretch, the Blue Jays will rely on the approach that got them to the top of the American League, drawing from a deep roster that includes players who don\u2019t play every day. Manager Schneider says his utility player with the same last name understands that role better than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing has been handed to him \u2014 he\u2019s been almost released a couple times, he\u2019s worked his ass off to get here.\u00a0And what I appreciate this year, after starting slow and having kind of an up-and-down year last year, he\u2019s really matured,\u201d the manager says, pointing to a 3-2 pitch Schneider likely would\u2019ve swung at last year, which he took for a ball to earn a walk against Houston earlier this month, helping tee-up an eventual walk-off win for the Blue Jays. \u201cI think he\u2019s understood that he\u2019s really good at certain things and he\u2019s kind of leaned into that, and that\u2019s what you want everyone to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Schneider isn\u2019t getting starts or pinch-hitting, he\u2019s doing everything he can to gear up for his next opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI picture that moment all the time in my head.\u00a0I know my role, so I’m going to have to be prepared whenever my name is called,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve just got to be ready for it whether that’s practicing for that moment or mentally just making sure I’m in the right state of mind. That moment’s going to come, whether that\u2019s tonight or in the playoffs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The playoff moments, in particular, he has pictured a lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the time,\u201d Schneider says.\u00a0\u201cGame 7 of the World Series, bases loaded, two outs, 3-2 count. As a kid you always dream about that moment. You’re playing wiffle ball in your backyard, and you picture it in your head. As a 26-year-old, I still picture that moment. It might not ever come, but you\u2019ve always got to picture it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I\u2019d ever make it to the Big Leagues, but you always picture it. I never thought I\u2019d hit a home run in my first Big League at-bat, but that moment, it might come and you\u2019ve just got to be ready for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On this sunny September afternoon, Schneider looks out at the open field and the open dome in front of him ahead of a Blue Jays win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt still doesn\u2019t really feel real that I\u2019m here,\u201d he says. \u201cI swear, it doesn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 A couple hours before Davis Schneider sent a high fastball over the wall for his 11th\u00a0home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-154905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}