Blue Jays manager Schneider’s first World Series experience came as a fan in 2003

By Canadian Press on October 24, 2025.

TORONTO — Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s first World Series experience came as a fan in 2003.

In his first full season at the minor-league level at the time, Schneider and Brendan Fuller, a teammate on the Single-A Charleston AlleyCats, went to the Bronx to watch the Yankees play the Florida Marlins.

“We talked about going to the World Series no matter where it was,” Schneider said Friday before Toronto hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1. “And it happened to be in New York, so we both held true to our promise. So it was pretty cool.”

Josh Beckett earned the win in Game 6 that night with a complete-game five-hitter as the Marlins took the series 4-2.

FALL CLASSIC

This is the 121st edition of the World Series and the third time that the Blue Jays have played in the Fall Classic.

Toronto beat the Atlanta Braves in 1992 and repeated as champions in 1993 by topping the Philadelphia Phillies.

The World Series was a best-of-nine series when it debuted in 1903.

The New York Giants won the National League title in 1904 but team owner John T. Brush didn’t allow his club to play the Boston Americans, feeling the American League — in its infancy at the time — was inferior.

The World Series also wasn’t played in 1994 due to a players’ strike.

UNDEFEATED

The Blue Jays are one of six active franchises from the so-called Big Four sports to play in at least two championships and win each appearance.

The Marlins (2-0) are the other Major League Baseball team. The NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens have both gone 2-0 in the Super Bowl.

The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche have won all three trips to the Stanley Cup final and the Chicago Bulls are 6-0 in the NBA Finals.