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Toronto Blue Jays captain John Schneider finished second to Cleveland's Steven Vogt in the Baseball Writers Association of America's American League Manager of the Year award.
Schneider led the Blue Jays to a 94-win season and the American League East Division title. He received 10 of the 30 first-place votes and 91 points overall, according to results announced Tuesday night.
Vogt, who led the Guardians to the AL Central crown, collected 17 first-place votes and 113 points. Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners was the second finalist (two first place votes, 50 points).
Vogt received this honor for the second year in a row. Milwaukee Brewers captain Pat Murphy is also a multiple National League honoree.
Schneider's club won 20 more games this year than it did for last place in 2024. Last month, the Blue Jays won two rounds of the playoffs before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Ballots were submitted before the start of the postseason.
Bobby Cox is the only Blue Jays manager to win this award, in 1985.
Schneider's second-place finish was the highest by a Toronto captain since Cito Gaston was second to Baltimore's Frank Robinson in 1989.
Schneider, who succeeded Charlie Montoyo as Blue Jays manager in July 2022, recently received a 2026 option in his contract.
Extension talks are ongoing, general manager Ross Atkins said last week during his season-ending press conference.
“He is a clear leader in this organization who is really, really good at his job, and I am very proud to work with him,” Atkins said.
Schneider, a 45-year-old native of Princeton, New Jersey, helped Toronto reach the wild card series in his first season at the helm, but the Blue Jays lost to the Seattle Mariners.
Toronto beat the Minnesota Twins again the following year before the team struggled to a 74-win season in 2024.
With a renewed offense and more consistent pitching, the Blue Jays rebounded in 2025 and edged New York for the East title in a tiebreaker.
The Blue Jays beat the Yankees in the AL Championship Series and then topped the Mariners in the AL Championship Series. Toronto lost a 5–4, 11-inning decision to the Dodgers in the deciding game of the Fall Classic.
Schneider 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 in 2008 became manager of the rookie Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He spent the next decade working his way up through the Blue Jays' minor league system.
Schneider was named 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.
Before the 2019 season, the Blue Jays promoted Schneider to their major league coaching staff to work with catchers. He was promoted to bench coach for the 2022 season.
Schneider becomes the Blue Jays' 14th manager since the team's debut in 1977.
