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Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Schneider finished second behind Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt in American League manager of the year voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Schneider guided the Blue Jays to a 94-win season and American League East Division title. In results announced Tuesday night, he had 10 of 30 first-place votes and 91 points overall.
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Vogt, who led the Guardians to the AL Central crown, had 17 first-place votes and 113 points. Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners was the other finalist (two first-place votes, 50 points).
It was the second straight year that Vogt has earned the honour. Milwaukee Brewers skipper Pat Murphy was also a repeat winner of the National League award.
Schneider’s club won 20 more games this year than it did over its last-place campaign in 2024. The Blue Jays won two playoff rounds last month before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Ballots were cast before the start of the post-season.
Bobby Cox is the only Blue Jays manager to have won the award, taking the honour in 1985.
Schneider’s runner-up finish was the highest for a Toronto skipper since Cito Gaston was second behind Baltimore’s Frank Robinson in 1989.
Schneider, who succeeded Charlie Montoyo as Blue Jays manager in July 2022, recently had the 2026 option year picked up on his contract.
Extension talks were underway, general manager Ross Atkins said last week at his season-ending media availability.
“He is a clear leader in this organization who is really, really good at his job and I’m very proud to be working with him,” Atkins said.
Schneider, a 45-year-old native of Princeton, N.J., helped Toronto reach the wild-card series in his first season at the helm but the Blue Jays were swept by the Seattle Mariners.
Toronto was swept again the following year by the Minnesota Twins before the team struggled to a 74-win season in 2024.
Led by a resurgent offence and more consistent pitching, the Blue Jays rebounded in 2025 and edged New York for the East title via tiebreaker.
The Blue Jays beat the Yankees in the AL Division Series before topping the Mariners in the AL Championship Series. Toronto dropped a 5-4, 11-inning decision to the Dodgers in the deciding game of the Fall Classic.
Schneider has spent more than two decades with the Toronto franchise. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 2002 draft by the Blue Jays and retired as a player after the 2007 campaign.
He was later hired by Toronto as a catching instructor and became manager of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays in 2008. He spent the next decade working his way up the Blue Jays’ minor-league system.
Schneider was promoted to manager of the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2018, and was named Eastern League manager of the year after leading the team to a championship.
The Blue Jays promoted Schneider to their major-league coaching staff before the 2019 season to work with catchers. He was promoted to bench coach for the 2022 season.
Schneider is the 14th manager of the Blue Jays since the franchise made its debut in 1977.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
