Brian Duncan Schneider (born November 26, 1976), nicknamed "Hoops", is an American former professional baseball catcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies. Schneider was the Miami Marlins catching coach from 2016 through 2019, and the quality control coach for the Mets from 2020 through 2021.
Early life and education
Schneider was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Peter and Karen Schneider. He has one sister, Melissa.
High school baseball
Schneider played high school baseball and basketball at Northampton Area High School in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in the state's highly competitive East Penn Conference. In 1994 and again in 1995, he was named Player of the Year in the Lehigh Valley. Over the course of his high school career, Schneider hit .427, with 22 doubles, and 11 home runs, and set a Northampton High School record with 91 runs batted in. As a senior, he had a .484 batting average.
In 1995, Schneider signed a letter of intent to play college baseball at Central Florida.
Playing career
Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals
Minor leagues
thumb|Schneider played for the [[Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals from 2000 to 2007.]]
Schneider was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 5th round (143rd, overall) of the 1995 June draft. In , while at the Single-A Cape Fear Crocs, of the South Atlantic League, Schneider emerged as a premiere defensive player, while also posting solid offensive numbers, and was named to the mid-season All-Star team.
Schneider was a member of the United States national baseball team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He sharing catching duties with Jason Varitek and former Montreal Expos teammate Michael Barrett. Schneider went 0-for-6 in the tournament, but started the USA team's opener against Mexico.
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 (NL) in percentage of base-stealers thrown out, gunning down just 27%. 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, 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 Philadelphia Phillies. On July 8, 2010, Schneider hit a walk-off home run to give the Phillies a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Following the completion of his initial Phillies contract, where he served as the team's backup catcher behind Carlos Ruiz, Schneider signed a contract for one more season in Philadelphia prior to the season.
After the 2012 season, Schneider announced his retirement from Major League Baseball, on January 29, 2013.
Coaching career
Schneider managed the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League, during the 2014 season. On December 4, 2015, he was named as the new catching coach for the Miami Marlins.
Following the 2019 season, the Marlins did not renew Schneider’s contract. On January 3, 2020, he was named as the manager of the Syracuse Mets.
On February 7, 2020, Schneider was named quality control coach for the New York Mets, succeeding Luis Rojas, who was named Mets manager in January 2020. Following the 2022 season, the Mets and Schneider parted ways.
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, with their dog, Rookie. Schneider moved to Kilkenny in Ireland to train and play hurling as a goalkeeper for James Stephens; in return, Jackie Tyrrell trained with the Florida-based Major League Baseball team Miami Marlins.