Brian Schneider: Former Mets Catcher (2008 - 2009) & Coach (2020 - 2021)
Trivia: Brian's nickname was "Hoops".
The six-foot, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the fifth round of the 1995 draft. He spent five seasons in the minors batting .280 with 10 HRs & 60 RBIs in 1998 in A ball.
Brian would be the Expos backup catcher to Michael Barrett for three seasons from 2000-2002. By 2003 he was the teams main catcher finishing up in that role as Montreal's last catcher.
Washington D.C.: In 2005 he moved with the franchise to Washington D.C. where he would stay for three seasons.
The six-foot, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the fifth round of the 1995 draft. He spent five seasons in the minors batting .280 with 10 HRs & 60 RBIs in 1998 in A ball.
By 2000 was AAA Ottawa's top catcher, getting called up to the Expos squad.
Schneider was a solid defensive catcher, ranking 5th in the league in fielding percentage in 2003 making only three errors in 709 chances.
Each season from 2003-2005 Schneider led all catchers in throwing out would be base stealers and threw out a leading 44% ratio. In 2004 he threw out half of base runners attempting to steal on him (36 of 72) and set an Expos record with a .998 fielding percentage. That year he had career highs in hits (112) HRs (12) & batted .257.
WBC: He was on Team USA in the 2006 World Baseball Classic going 0-6 overall at the plate.
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Mets Career: He & his wife were excited about coming to New York, when he arrived, he was penciled in as the Mets regular catcher.
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On May 10th he hit his first Mets HR, coming off the Reds Mike Lincoln in the first game of a double header. In mid-May he drove in runs in four straight games, two of them in subway series wins in the Bronx. Schneider drove in 15 runs in the first two months of the season.
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The Mets were in first place until September 15th, they would lose six of their last nine & miss the playoffs.
Brian finished the year with 9 HRs 38 RBIs 10 doubles and a .250 average. He posted a .339 on base % & .707 OPS. Behind the plate he posted a .994 fielding %, throwing out 33% of would-be base stealers (4th in the NL) playing in 109 games.
2009: In 2009 the Mets began playing in their new ball park, Citi Field.
Brian soon suffered from a muscle strain in his back & spent almost two months on the DL. With the wear & tear of being a catcher for the past decade, injuries caught up to him. From this point on he would have to be more of a backup catcher.
In 57 games behind the plate, he threw out 34% of would-be base stealers, above the league average & made just one error.
Post Mets Career: Schneider went to the Philadelphia Phillies becoming the backup catcher to Carlos Ruiz. In 2010 he caught 46 games behind the plate& threw out just 21% of would-be base stealers, posting a .993 fielding %. He batted .240 with 4 HRs & 15 RBIs for the first place Phils. He did not see any post season action as the Phillies reached the NLCS losing to the SF Giants.
Trivia: On August 7th, 2007, he was behind the plate when Barry Bonds hit HR #756 off the Nationals pitcher, Mike Bacsick.
In 2007 he hit a career high 21 doubles & drove in 54 runs, one shy of his career high set the year before. That winter he was traded to the New York Mets along with Ryan Church for Lastings Milledge.
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He played in 110 games that season & brought a rugged old-school style of play. His style was similar to that of Mets legend Jerry Grote, although he did not perform as well as Grote.
On Opening Day he was the Mets catcher going 0-4 in the 7-2 win at Florida. In the second game of the season, Brian had a three-hit game driving in his first Met RBI, in a loss to the Marlins.
On April 18th he had a three hit three RBI game in a loss to the Brewers at Citi Field. Brian had a good start at the plate, batting .309 for April.
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On August 14th he homered off the Nat's Collin Balester in a 9-3 Mets win. Two days later he hit a two run HR off the Pirates Jeff Karstens & drove in three runs in a Johan Santana complete game shut out.
On August 22nd, Santana threw another shut out for seven innings to beat the Astros, Scheider hit a two run HR off Roy Oswalt in the 3-0 win. In a stretch of six games he homered four times & drove in nine runs.
Multi HR Game: On September 18th, he had his first multi-HR game, hitting HRs off former Nat's teammates Tim Redding & Jason Bergmann in a crucial Mets win, keeping them in contention a half game back. In the final game played at Shea Stadium he came in as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning.
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Brian finished the year with 9 HRs 38 RBIs 10 doubles and a .250 average. He posted a .339 on base % & .707 OPS. Behind the plate he posted a .994 fielding %, throwing out 33% of would-be base stealers (4th in the NL) playing in 109 games.
2009: In 2009 the Mets began playing in their new ball park, Citi Field.
Scoring First Run At Citi Field: In the home opener, centerfieldmaz was in attendance that day as the Mets lost to the Padres. In the 2nd inning Schneider reached on a fielder's choice. He scored the first run when he crossed the plate on Luis Castillo's double.
With his injuries & the emergence of Omir Santos, Schneider only saw playing time in 59 games.
He batted a mere .218 with 11 doubles 3 HRs and 24 RBIs.
Although he knew his days were numbered in New York, he took the time to mentor Santos and the youngster Josh Thole in catching.
Although he knew his days were numbered in New York, he took the time to mentor Santos and the youngster Josh Thole in catching.
Mets Career Stats: In his two seasons in New York, Brian was a .244 hitter, but behind the plate he made only six errors in 1142 chances with a .995 fielding percentage, throwing out 34% of would-be base stealers.
Post Mets Career: Schneider went to the Philadelphia Phillies becoming the backup catcher to Carlos Ruiz. In 2010 he caught 46 games behind the plate& threw out just 21% of would-be base stealers, posting a .993 fielding %. He batted .240 with 4 HRs & 15 RBIs for the first place Phils. He did not see any post season action as the Phillies reached the NLCS losing to the SF Giants.
In 2011 he hit just .176 in 125 at bats, posting a .997 fielding %, throwing out just 3 of 20 base
stealers. The Phillies won the East but lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS. Brian did not play in the post season.
stealers. The Phillies won the East but lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS. Brian did not play in the post season.
In 2012 he returned with the Phillies for his third season, seeing action in 34 games where he hit two HRs & batted .227 The Phillies did not make the post season & Schneider would never play in any post season games in his career. He retired after the season.
Career Stats: In 13 seasons Brian caught 992 games behind the plate. He threw out 36% of would-be base stealers, posting a .992 fielding %, making just 39 errors in 6464 chances. He batted .247 with 781 hits, 67 HRs 167 doubles 387 RBIs & 284 runs scored in 1048 games. He struck out 526 times walked 331 times with a .320 on base % & .689 OPS.
Retirement & Coaching: In 2014 he became coach for the A ball Jupiter Hammerheads for two seasons.
In 2016 he became the Miami Marlins catchers coach, remaining there for three seasons.
Mets Organization: In 2020 he was first named the Mets AAA Syracuse Mets manager. The next month he was named the Mets quality control coach, replacing Luis Rojas.
In 2021 Schneider served as the Mets Major league field coordinator & catching coach. After the 2022 season he left the organization.
Family: Brian married his wife Jordan (Sproat) in November of 2004. Together they have four children, two daughters & two sons. They reside in Jupiter, Florida.
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