Brian Duncan Schneider (born November 26, 1976), nicknamed "Hoops", is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Schneider was the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

catching coach from 2016 through 2019, and the quality control coach for the Mets from 2020 through 2021.

Early life

Schneider was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

to Peter and Karen Schneider. He has one sister, Melissa.

Early career

Schneider played high school baseball and basketball at

Northampton Area High School Northampton Area High School is a public high school in the Northampton Area School District and located in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had 1 ...

Northampton, Pennsylvania Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Its population was 10,395 as of the 2020 census. Northampton is located north of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, and west of New York City. The borough is part of the Lehigh ...

, in the state's highly competitive East Penn Conference. He was named Player of the Year in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, in both 1994 and 1995. Over the course of his high school career, Schneider hit .427, with 22 doubles, and 11

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, and set a school record with 91

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. As a senior, he had a .484

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

Professional career

Schneider was selected by the

in the 5th round (143rd, overall) of the 1995 June draft. In , while at the Class-A

Cape Fear Crocs The Cape Fear Crocs were a minor league baseball team in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They were a low Class-A baseball team which played in the South Atlantic League, and were a farm team of the Montreal Expos for the franchise's entire tenu ...

, of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, Schneider emerged as a premiere defensive player, while also posting solid offensive numbers, and was named to the mid-season All-Star team.

Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals

After making a strong impression at the Expos’ spring training in , Schneider was called up to the big leagues, following an injury to regular catcher

Chris Widger Christopher Jon Widger (born May 21, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and current minor league manager. He played for the Seattle Mariners (-, ), Montreal Expos (-2000), New York Yankees (), St. Louis Cardinals (), C ...

. Schneider made his MLB debut on May 26, 2000, on the road at the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

’

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

, going 0-for-1, after coming into the game as a defensive replacement, in the 9th inning. The following day, he made his first big league start, going 2-for-3, including a double, in the 6th inning, for his first major league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. In the season, Schneider split his time between the majors and minors, making the most of his opportunities whenever he was given playing time with the Expos. He compiled a batting average of .317, in 27 games, driving in 6 runs, and scoring 4 times. On September 22, 2001, Schneider hit his first career home run, coming off

Scott Elarton Vincent Scott Elarton (born February 23, 1976) is a retired right-handed pitcher. He played for the Houston Astros (–), Colorado Rockies (2001–), Cleveland Indians (2004–, ) and the Kansas City Royals (–) Playing career Minor leagues ...

, in the fifth inning of a 3-1 Expos victory over the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. In , Schneider served as the backup catcher to Michael Barrett. He made his outfield debut on June 4, 2002, against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, playing left field, after pinch-hitting for

Wil Cordero Wilfredo Cordero Nieva (born October 3, 1971) is a former shortstop, first baseman, and outfielder in Major League Baseball. He was best known as a member of the Montreal Expos (1992–1995, 2002–2003). Cordero made his Major League Baseball d ...

, in the eighth inning. In 73 games, Schneider hit .275, with 5 home runs, 29 RBIs, and 19 doubles. On September 24, 2002, he was honored as the Expos' nominee for Major League Baseball's first annual

Roberto Clemente Award The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans a ...

, losing out to

Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during th ...

. In (his fourth season with the Expos), Schneider caught a majority of the club's games for the first time, spending a total of 841 innings behind the plate. He was ranked fifth in the league in fielding with a .996 percentage, committing only three errors, in 709 total chances. At the plate, Schneider established career highs in numerous offensive categories, including hits (77), doubles (26), home runs (9), RBIs (46), total bases (132), and walks (37). The season saw Schneider post career highs in hits (112), home runs (12), and RBIs (49). For the second straight season, he led major league catchers in throwing out base-stealers, with a 47.8 percent success rate. Schneider finished the season with a fielding percentage of .998, setting a new franchise single-season record for a catcher, in that category. In (with the Expos franchise having been newly relocated), Schneider became the first-ever catcher in Washington Nationals history. That same year, he threw out an MLB-leading 38 percent of would-be base-stealers. (In fact, between 2003 and 2005, Schneider threw out 43.5 percent of base-stealers, the best ratio in baseball over that period.) Schneider struggled offensively during the first half of the season, hitting just .223 through August 4. His form picked up though, and he batted .324 with 9 doubles, 1 home run, and 21 RBIs, in the 42 games, thereafter. For the first time since 2002, Schneider did not lead either MLB or the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) in percentage of base-stealers thrown out, gunning down just 27%. As a historical note, Schneider was behind the plate, catching Mike Bacsik, when

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

hit his MLB record-breaking 756th career home run, on August 7, 2007.

New York Mets

On November 30, 2007, the Nationals traded Schneider and

Ryan Church Ryan Matthew Church (born October 14, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Minors Drafte ...

to the

for top prospect

Lastings Milledge Lastings Darnell Milledge (born April 5, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox and then in Nip ...

. In his first season in New York, Schneider hit .257, with 9 home runs, and 38 RBIs, in 110 games. He scored the first-ever Mets run at their new ballpark,

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

, April 13, 2009, scoring on a double hit by Luis Castillo.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 1, 2009, Schneider signed a two-year contract with the

. One highlight of his Phillies career came on July 8, 2010, when Schneider hit a walk-off home run to give the Phillies a 4-3 win over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Following the completion of his initial Phillies contract, where he served as the team's backup catcher behind Carlos Ruiz, Schneider signed for one more season in Philadelphia prior to the season. After the 2012 season, Schneider announced his retirement from

, on January 29, 2013.

Coaching

Schneider managed the

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, during the 2014 season. On December 4, 2015, he was announced as the new catching coach for the

. Schneider’s contract was not renewed after the 2019 season with the Marlins. He was named as

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which open ...

manager on January 3, 2020. On February 7, 2020, Brian Schneider was named quality control coach for the

, succeeding Luis Rojas, who held the position last season and was named Mets manager in January 2020.

International career

Schneider was a member of the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

at the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

. He sharing catching duties with

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded a ...

and former

teammate Michael Barrett. Schneider went 0-for-6 in the tournament, but started the USA team's opener against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Personal life

On November 6, 2004, Schneider married Jordan Sproat. The couple have four children; daughters, Tatum (b. 2007) and Haven (b. 2012) and sons, Calin (b. 2009) and Holden (b. 2010). The family currently lives in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

, with their dog, Rookie.

Catching For Kids Foundation

In 2008, Brian Schneider's Catching for Kids Foundation was established to support children and their participation in sports by providing funding and creative programming. The foundation strives to enable children of all backgrounds and physical abilities to enjoy the games they love.

Television

In 2015, as part of a job-swap documentary for Irish television, Schneider moved to

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in Ireland to train and play

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for James Stephens; in return,

Jackie Tyrrell Jackie Tyrrell (born 19 June 1982) is an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Kilkenny senior team spanned fourteen seasons from 2003 to 2016. Born in Kilkenny, Tyrrell was raised in a hurling household. His father, Dermo ...

trained with the Florida-based

team

References

External links

Brian Schneider
at Ultimate Mets Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Brian 1976 births Living people 2006 World Baseball Classic players Northampton Area High School alumni American expatriate baseball players in Canada American hurlers Major League Baseball catchers Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Florida Baseball players from Pennsylvania Montreal Expos players Washington Nationals players Philadelphia Phillies players New York Mets players Miami Marlins coaches New York Mets coaches Cape Fear Crocs players Clearwater Threshers players Delmarva Shorebirds players Gulf Coast Expos players Harrisburg Senators players Hurling goalkeepers Jupiter Hammerheads players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Ottawa Lynx players People from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Potomac Nationals players Reading Phillies players Sportspeople from Northampton County, Pennsylvania World Baseball Classic players of the United States