Inside a solemn locker room following Toronto’s heartbreaking 5-4 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday night, Blue Jays manager John Schneider gathered his players together for what he called their “first team meeting of the year.’’

The Mercer County native simply said “thank you.’’

And he repeated it over and over again.

“I said thank you probably about 10 times,’’ said Schneider, a 1998 Lawrence High School graduate who had the Blue Jays in their first World Series since 1993. “I said, ‘Thank you.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry we’re feeling this way right now. It definitely could’ve been the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of emotions.’ ‘’

The Blue Jays were two outs from their first championship in 32 years when Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas delivered one of the most dramatic moments in World Series history, homering off a full-count slider to tie the score at 4-4.

In the 11th inning, Will Smith connected on the first extra-inning homer in a winner-take-all World Series game, and the Dodgers hung on to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees won three straight titles a quarter century ago.

Best video game consoles

“It’ll hurt for a few weeks,’’ Schneider said in a postgame press conference. ”The positive person in me will take some time to digest it. But the beauty of baseball is that it goes on. There’ll be spring training in February.’’

The 45-year-old Schneider, who was born in Princeton and inducted into the Lawrence High School athletics hall of fame in 2011, was looking to join three other New Jersey high school graduates who have won World Series titles as managers over the last four decades. Among them: Tom Kelly, a St. Mary-South Amboy graduate who led the Minnesota Twins to titles in 1987 and 1991, Jack McKeon, a St. Mary-South Amboy graduate who steered the Florida Marlins to the 2003 crown and John Farrell, a Shore Regional graduate who guided the Boston Red Sox to the 2013 championship.

“John’s a Jersey guy through and through,” his younger brother, Kevin Schneider, told NJ Advance Media before the World Series. “It’s one of those classic our-dad-coached-us in Little League stories. It started off with him bringing us to Little League games when we were young. Dinners would be cheese fries and hot dogs from the concession stand because we were at the fields all day, every night.”

The Blue Jays were spurred by a pair of former South Jersey high school standouts for most of the season. Eastern graduate Davis Schneider(no relation to the Blue Jays manager) and Haddonfield product Joey Loperfido contributed to the American League East Division championship this season.

In his third season, Davis Schneider recorded a .797 OPS, with 11 homers, 31 RBI and a .234 batting average in 82 games. The 26-year-old utility player, who opted not to attend Rutgers after being drafted in the 28th round of the MLB Draft in 2017, hit .444 with 40 RBIs as a senior while graduating as Eastern’s all-time hits leader.

Undrafted out of Haddonfield, Loperfido starred at Duke and was then taken in the seventh round of the 2021 draft by the Houston Astros. Loperfido played in 41 games this season, registering an .879 OPS in 96 at-bats. The 26-year- old left fielder slugged four homers and 14 RBI while batting .333 in a reserve utility role.

A third former South Jersey standout joined the Blue Jays in August, when Buddy Kennedy, a Millville graduate, was called up to play for the eventual American League East Division winners. It turned out to be a brief stint for Kennedy, who played in two games before getting released. Ironically, the 27-year-old second baseman/third baseman was signed by Los Angeles and is now expected to receive a World Series championship ring for his seven-game contribution with the Dodgers.

Like Kennedy, Davis Schneider was 2017 NJ.com All-State performer. He delivered one of the World Series’ signature moments with a leadoff home run in Game 5. The homer was filmed by his father, Steve, whose video quickly went viral on social media.

“It’s great to have my family out here and get to experience the World Series,’’ Schneider said, via MLB.com, after the Game 5 triumph in Los Angeles. “We’re from a small town in New Jersey, and they deserve it just as much as me and couldn’t be more grateful for them to be here.”

Keith Sargeant focuses on sports investigations, covering Rutgers, New Jersey colleges and state institutions while keeping an eye on government, public accountability, education and environmental justice.https://www.nj.com/user/ksargeant/posts.html

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.