Brian Schneider

Early life

Schneider was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Peter and Karen Schneider. He has one sister.

Early career

Schneider played high school baseball at Northampton Area High School in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in the state's highly competitive East Penn Conference (now known as the Lehigh Valley Conference). He was named Player of the Year in Lehigh Valley in both 1994 and 1995.

Professional career

Schneider was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 June draft. In 1997 at the Class-A Cape Fear Crocs of the South Atlantic League, Schneider emerged as a premiere defensive player while accumulating solid offensive numbers and was named to the mid-season All-Star team.

Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals

After making a strong impression at the Expos spring training in 2000, Schneider was called up to the majors following an injury to regular catcher Chris Widger. Schneider made his major league debut on May 26, 2000 at San Diego, going 0-for-1 after coming into the game as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning. The following day he made his first start, going 2-for-3 including a double in the 6th inning for his first major league hit.

In the 2001 season Schneider split his time between the major league and the minors, but he made the most of his opportunities when he was given playing time with the Expos. He compiled a batting average of .317 in 27 games, driving in 6 runs and scoring 4 times. On September 22, 2001 Schneider hit his first career home run, coming off Scott Elarton in the fifth inning of a 3-1 Expos victory over the Colorado Rockies.

In 2002 Schneider served as the backup catcher to Michael Barrett. He made his outfield debut on June 4, 2002 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, entering in left field after pinch-hitting for Wil Cordero in the eighth inning. In 73 games Schneider hit .275 with 5 home runs, 29 RBIs and 19 doubles. On September 24, 2002 he was honored as the Expos' nominee for Major League Baseball's first annual Roberto Clemente Award, losing out to Jim Thome.

In 2003, his fourth season with the Expos, Schneider caught a majority of the club's games for the first time, and was behind the plate for a total of 841 innings. He was ranked fifth in the league in fielding with a .996 percentage, committing only three errors in 709 total chances. At the plate, he established career highs in numerous offensive categories, including hits (77), doubles (26), home runs (9), RBIs (46), total bases (132) and walks (37).

The 2004 season saw Schneider post career highs in hits (112), home runs (12) and RBIs (49). For the second straight season, he led major league catchers in throwing out base-stealers, with a 47.8 percent success rate. Schneider finished the season with a fielding percentage of .998, setting a new franchise single-season record for a catcher.

In 2005, Schneider was the first player to play catcher in Washington Nationals history. That same year, Schneider threw out a majors-leading 38 percent of would-be base stealers. Between 2003 and 2005, he threw out 43.5 percent of base-stealers, the best ratio in baseball over that period.

Schneider struggled offensively during the first half of the 2006 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 the major leagues or the National League in percentage of base-stealers thrown out, gunning down just 27%.

Schneider was behind the plate catching Mike Bacsik when Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th career home run on August 7, 2007.

New York Mets

On November 30, 2007 the Washington Nationals traded Schneider and Ryan Church to the New York Mets for top prospect Lastings Milledge. In his first season in New York, Schneider hit .257 with 9 home runs and 38 RBIs in 110 games. Schneider scored the first Mets run at Citi Field on a double hit by Luis Castillo.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 1, 2009, Schneider signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. One highlight of this stint came on July 8, 2010, when Schneider hit a walk-off home run to give the Phillies a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

After fulfilling his two-year contract in Philadelphia as the team's backup catcher behind Carlos Ruiz, he re-signed with the club prior to the 2012 season.

Retirement

After the 2012 season, Schneider announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on January 29, 2013.

Coaching

He managed the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League during the 2014 season. On December 4, 2015, he was announced as the new catching coach for the Miami Marlins.

2006 World Baseball Classic

Schneider was a member of the USA team during the 2006 World Baseball Classic, sharing catching duties with Jason Varitek and former Nationals teammate Michael Barrett. Schneider went 0-for-6 in the tournament, but started the USA's opener against Mexico.

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 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with their two dogs, Dinger and Ribbie.

Catching For Kids Foundation

In 2008, Brian Schneider's Catching for Kids Foundation was established to support children and their participation in sports by providing funding and creative programming. The foundation strives to enable children of all backgrounds and physical abilities to enjoy the games they love.