Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider takes friendly jab at Shohei Ohtani ahead of World Series
A lot has happened for the Toronto Blue Jays since the 2023 offseason, but that hasn’t clouded John Schneider’s memory.
On the eve of the World Series between Toronto and the Los Angeles Dodgers, a reporter requested that Schneider provide some insight about his team’s pursuit of Shohei Ohtani back in 2023.
Instead, Schneider rebutted with a request of his own for Ohtani.
“I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jays hat that he took from us in our meeting,” Schneider said.
“I hope he brought it back, finally… and the jacket for [his dog] Decoy, like, give us our stuff back already.”
"I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jay hat he took from us in our meeting." š
John Schneider on Shohei Ohtani š pic.twitter.com/2GObZJ8vw0
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 23, 2025
Later in the day, Ohtani confirmed that he still has some of that Blue Jays swag, but he didn’t bring it with him to Toronto.
Shohei Ohtani says yes, he still has the hat the Blue Jays gave him in his garage. Considers the Blue Jays a ātop classā organization. pic.twitter.com/kMY1x7UPB0
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) October 23, 2025
Back in December of 2023, multiple reports suggested that Ohtani was going to sign with the Blue Jays. Instead, he signed a 10-year deal with the Dodgers worth $700 million.
“When we met with him, you felt good about it,” Schneider said. “And, you felt good about the feedback he was giving about our organization and the opportunity here.”
“But you never know what a player is feeling in free agency, and there’s a lot of things that have to line up for them personally, too.”
Ohtani has lived up to his monstrosity of a contract in Los Angeles. He became the first designated hitter ever to be named MVP last season. He’s followed that up with another sensational performance in 2025, leading him to be a heavy favourite to win his second straight NL MVP award.
The 29-year-old was also just named MVP of the NLCS, after the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers. Ohtani delivered an incredible performance in Game 4, allowing two hits in six innings pitched while delivering three home runs as a batter.
Now, he’s four wins away from helping the Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series title. Only the Blue Jays stand in his way.
“You can’t really think about what ifs,” Schneider said. “You think about the 26 [active roster players] that we have.”
“He’s a great player, but we have a great team, and an unbelievable cast of characters, and I think things worked out the way they were meant to work out.”