Canada Day special for Coach Schneider
TORONTO -- John Schneider has been looking forward to Canada Day at Rogers Centre for months.
The Princeton, N.J.-born Major League coach of the Blue Jays joined Toronto's staff during the offseason, but through the years he spent as a player and manager in the organization’s Minor League system, Schneider developed a particular affinity for his adopted country and its celebratory day.
“I’ve been looking forward to this since I got the job here, actually, in the offseason,” Schneider said. “I’ve been looking forward to this day, hoping the roof would be open, and it is, and to get to see a bunch of red out there. It should be fun.”
Schneider managed at five levels down on the Blue Jays’ farm for nine seasons, but it was his time with the Class A Vancouver Canadians that led him to feel a sense of patriotism for the country north of the border.
“It started in Vancouver, when you hear the whole crowd sing the anthem every day,” the 39-year-old coach said. “That kind of gives you the feeling of how much the people here love being here.
“So it started then, and it has always stayed with me a little bit, being there and being here and seeing the feel of the people and the city, Vancouver and here, it’s pretty special. I always joke that I consider myself a very, very tiny part Canadian, so I had my Tim Hortons this morning and I’m looking forward to today.”
It was in Vancouver where Schneider began to understand how tight-knit the Canadian baseball community was, and just what it meant for each player hailing from the Great White North to be able to play professionally.
“You realize it’s important because, number one, it’s the support you get on this day, and in Vancouver it’s every day,” Schneider said. “You try to really be aware of that, but it’s just the vibe and the energy that’s in the city and the stadium on a day like today, it makes it easy to play into it a little bit. It’s cool.”
Between the 2014 and ’15 seasons in Vancouver, the young skipper had five Canucks on his rosters, with Justin Atkinson (Surrey, British Columbia), Andrew Case (Saint John, New Brunswick), Connor Panas (Etobicoke, Ontario), Mike Reeves (Peterborough, Ontario) and Tom Robson (Ladner, British Columbia).
Later in Schneider's career, he also managed Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ontario) during a rehab stint, and Jordan Romano (Markham, Ontario), who he reunited with this season when the hurler made his big league debut. Whenever Schneider had the chance, he began to play his Canadians on Canada Day.
“I always tried to be aware of this day, and who’s on your roster, and it went from there,” he said. “There are limitations a little bit with Jordan being a starter, but the bullpen guys I tried to get in there, and the position players, Panas was in there in New Hampshire, Atkinson in Lansing. You try to put those guys in on a cool day for the country.”
In Toronto for Canada Day for the first time on Monday, Schneider is excited for what the day holds.
“I’m looking forward to the atmosphere for sure,” he said. “And hopefully having a huge crowd here and just feeding off them a little bit.”
Down on the farm
At Triple-A Buffalo, left-hander Thomas Pannone was named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The 25-year-old went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 11 innings in his two outings.
Pannone is in his seventh professional season, and since the beginning of last year, he has made 35 appearances for the Blue Jays, and he owns a 6-4 record and a 4.96 ERA.
Quotable
“I know that you’re representing a country, because I played in Ottawa and Montreal, and I think it’s pretty cool and awesome. I mean it, really.” -- Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo on what he’s learned about baseball in Canada