Davis Schneider

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Davis Schneider

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Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Davis Schneider was never considered a top prospect, having been drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 28th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of a high school in New Jersey. However, he forced his way into the team's plans by hitting well in the minor leagues, improving a little every year, especially after being forced to sit out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he batted .231 in 46 games for the Vancouver Canadians, but in 2022 he improved to .283 in 46 games for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats, earning a first look in AAA. In 2023, he was batting .275 in 87 games for the AAA Buffalo Bisons, with 21 doubles and 64 RBIs, when he got the call to Toronto.

Davis made his major league debut for the Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox on August 4, 2023, batting seventh and starting at second base, and in his first career at-bat, he hit a home run off James Paxton into the Green Monster seats at Fenway Park, helping to lead the Jays to a 7-3 win. It was Toronto's first win of the year against Boston, after losing the first seven meetings between the two teams. His production did not end there, as he had a total of 9 hits, including a second homer, in helping lead Toronto to a three-game sweep. No player had ever started his career with such numbers in a three-game series before him. He was just getting started, as he got off to the best start of anyone in major league history in term of OPS: in his first 20 games, he hit .385 with 7 doubles and 7 homers, with an OBP of .512 for an OPS of 1.358. By the time he made his return to the Rogers Centre on September 8th, he had become a folk hero, with hundreds of fans sporting fake mustaches and glasses to reproduce his very distinctive look. He did not disappoint them as he went 2 for 2 with both hits being doubles, and 2 walks, in a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals, sending his OPS even further into the stratosphere. However, he went onto a prolonged slump shortly thereafter, made worse by the fact the Jays faced very few lefties, so that he could not get any at-bats to work his way out of it. He finished at .276 in 35 games, with 8 homers and 20 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 175. His most common position was second base and he did not appear in the postseason, when the Blue Jays made a quick exit.

He made the Jays' Opening Day roster in 2024, prompting the team to trade Santiago Espinal to the Cincinnati Reds to make room, and homered in his first game of the season on March 31st. He followed that with a more spectacular homer on April 2nd, as it came against Houston Astros closer Josh Hader with two outs in the 9th and the Jays trailing 1-0; the two-run blast gave Toronto a completely unexpected win, and broke a skein of more than 17 innings without a run, punctuated by having been no-hit by Ronel Blanco the night before.

He is not related to Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Nick Ashbourne: "Blue Jays rookie sensation Davis Schneider's patience should keep him rolling: The newest Blue Jays folk hero has grabbed fans' attention by hitting home runs, but his patience could give him staying power.", Yahoo! Sports, September 11, 2023. [1]
  • Craig Forde: "Welcome to The Show! Prospect homers in first AB with Blue Jays", mlb.com, August 4, 2023. [2]
  • Craig Forde: "Rookie's historic series carries Blue Jays to crucial sweep: Schneider the first in MLB history to compile nine hits with two HRs through three games", mlb.com, August 6, 2023. [3]
  • Jon Paul Morosi: "Success coming into focus for specs-sporting Schneider", mlb.com, March 11, 2024. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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