TORONTO, ON- JUNE 8 - John Schneider #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays waits for batting practice to start as the Toronto Blue Jays play the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre in Toronto. June 8, 2026. Steve Russell/Toronto Star (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Toronto Star via Getty Images
The Toronto Blue Jays are clinging on in the American League playoff race, though that’s mostly thanks to a particularly weak field this year.
And if the Blue Jays are unable to reach the postseason and make a deep push, it will be a marked disappointment after a Cinderella run all the way to Game 7 of the Fall Classic last year. If that happens, the team will be able to point to some bad injury luck, the loss of Bo Bichette or a number of other changes from last year for the step back.
But manager John Schneider might also point to the loss of an influential member of his coaching staff.
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By all accounts, former Blue Jays coach Don Mattingly, who departed the club before taking on a bench coach role with the Philadelphia Phillies to start this season, was a major influence on the team’s offensive success last season.
And Mattingly's impact on the Blue Jays extended well beyond his official title. The former New York Yankees first baseman and longtime manager developed a close relationship with Schneider during their time together, creating a partnership that Schneider has openly credited for helping shape his managerial approach.
“He managed the (Los Angeles) Dodgers and the (Miami) Marlins before coming into a variety of coaching roles in his time with the Jays,” Steve Simmons noted for the Toronto Sun as the Phillies and Blue Jays played a series this week. “In Toronto, he became a close friend and an admirer of Jays’ manager John Schneider, who was a Mattingly fan growing up. The two play a mutual admiration society game of sorts when talking about each other. Schneider says that hanging out with Mattingly was like hanging out with a genuine celebrity.”
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“It was the quiet swagger that he had,” Schneider said, according to the Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm. “He was very calm and confident. It was great for me to be able to bounce things off of him.”
Mattingly has accomplished much around the game of baseball, though never a World Series championship. But with the Yankees, he was a legend in his own time as a six-time All-Star, MVP, nine-time Gold Glover and three-time Silver Slugger.
Schneider also pointed to Mattingly's steady presence during difficult stretches, noting that the former Yankees captain consistently emphasized patience and confidence. And he summed up the value that Mattingly brings to any dugout with a simple three-word message about what was lost.
“It was experience,” Schneider added, per Chisholm.
Now leading the Phillies, Mattingly has become one of baseball's most prominent managerial stories of 2026. Yet his influence continues to be felt in Toronto, where Schneider remains appreciative of the lessons and perspective he gained while working alongside one of the most respected figures of his generation.
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