pc28����

Instead, he led quietly. Schneider approached baseball with ferocious diligence. When Christ saw a player not working hard in the weight room, a glance at Schneider and back was all it took to send the message: Our leader is working his butt off. You’d better, too.

That quiet kid — the one who rarely raised his hand in English class, whose teammates would tease him for stumbling over his words in interviews — is now a celebrity in Toronto. In less than two months since his major-league debut Schneider has become a fan favourite, his glasses and painter’s brush moustache replicated by fans and emblazoned on T-shirts.

But that quietness is still there. Schneider keeps to himself in his room at the Rogers Centre’s Marriott Hotel, away from the crowds flocking for his autograph or picture.

“I kind of like to stick to my own,” he told the Star in a recent interview.

Hot start at Fenway Park

It’s not hard to understand the hype. Schneider started his first big-league game in early August at Fenway Park in Boston. He sent a ball over the Green Monster in his first at-bat, then came back the next day and hit three singles. By the end of the weekend, Schneider had become the first player in MLB history with nine hits and two home runs in his first three games.

The hitting continued. His 1.315 on-base plus slugging percentage through his first 25 games set a modern-era record. He got on base in all but two of his first 23 starts. He hit seventh, then third, then leadoff. Out of nowhere, Schneider became Toronto’s most potent hitter, dragging the team through the dog days of August. Some credit him for keeping the lineup afloat in the volatile wild-card race.

‘Do the right thing’

Schneider’s passion has always been there. At nine years old, he came through Christ’s baseball camp and took part in a drill where players who got a hit kept hitting, but those who made an out had to field.

“(Schneider) made an out and he just got so frustrated,” Christ said. “He was just outward in his disgust at his inability to get a hit in that situation. I find it so ironic because when Davis came to me, even as a freshman, his outward (demeanour) was completely the opposite.”

In high school, Schneider used his own actions to lead the team. He absorbed everything he could as a freshman from the team’s shortstop, the brother of NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. In later years, when someone else asked for more ground balls, Schneider did, too.

“You don’t have to yell at guys to make an example out of them,” Schneider said. “Just do the right thing on the field and off the field and hopefully they follow suit. Because yelling at people, in my opinion, it can only go so far.”

Even after the Jays drafted Schneider in the 28th round in 2017, his presence loomed at Eastern. Jack Herman, a high school teammate who is now a prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, used him as an example after he left.

“If Davis was here, you’d see him with his head down,” Herman told the team.

Dreading the call

Schneider’s shot at making the majors was never a sure bet. He spent parts of three seasons in rookie ball, then lived in fear of getting cut during the COVID-19 shutdown.

During the first tense weeks of the pandemic, Schneider stayed with fellow minor leaguer Griffin Conine in Florida. The pair spent the time hitting in a makeshift backyard cage during the day and watching “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” at night. But Schneider worried every call meant the end of his time with the Jays.

“That’s just kind of where he was at mentally,” said Conine, who was traded to the Miami Marlins in September 2020. “He was just super nervous all the time. He was expecting phone calls and any time someone would call … I’d see his face go all white.”

Schneider stuck around. He reached High-A Vancouver in 2021, then took off the next season and climbed all the way to Triple-A Buffalo. He spent 2023 there until his call-up in August.

“It’s just a testament to what being a good guy can do,” Conine said. “If he wasn’t the person he was, I’m not sure he would continue to get opportunities.”

Through his development as a baseball player, his personality developed, too. For one, he’s no longer terrible at interviews.

“I can tell he is so much more out of his shell and open and personable now,” said Herman, who played with Schneider from T-ball to Eastern. “Just watching him on TV and talk — that is not the same personality that I saw in high school … He’s just fluent and outspoken and I feel like he’s just grown so much.”

Slumping Schneider

Now, for the first time in his short major-league career, Schneider is struggling. In eight games between Sept. 13 and 23, Schneider came to the plate 33 times and got on base three times. He didn’t have a single hit, but the fans were still behind him.

When third baseman Matt Chapman’s returned from the injured list, it created a logjam in the infield. The slumping Schneider has started only one game since Sept. 24, in Sunday’s the regular season finale. The fans welcomed him at the plate with a rousing ovation and Schneider returned the favour, snapping his 0-for-31 streak with two doubles and a walk.

Christ and other friends texted Schneider during the slump, telling him to keep his head up.

“I’m OK. You don’t have to coddle me,” Schneider said. “I know I’m going through a cold streak … (but) there’s worse things in the world than not getting a hit in Major League Baseball.”

Adjustments will come in the off-season, when Schneider is back home in South Jersey with his family and German shepherd, Jasper. He said he’ll likely shave his moustache, despite its popularity with the fan base.

But he promised he’ll grow it back next year.

For the people who helped Schneider get to the majors, the pride from the 2023 season is overwhelming.

“When Davis smiles,” Christ said, “it makes me happy, because he deserves to be happy.”