Manager John Schneider and the Toronto Blue Jays made an embarrassing mistake Saturday that forced them to pull starter Alek Manoah from the game sooner than they would have liked to.
Schneider was forced to pull Manoah during the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles after mistakingly making a second mound visit during the inning. By rule, teams are entitled to one mound visit per inning for a conference, and the pitcher must be removed on the second visit of an inning.
Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker had visited Manoah earlier in the inning after a one-out single in a 2-2 game. Manoah then hit a batter and recorded a strikeout, at which point Schneider emerged from the dugout. The manager clearly had no intention of removing Manoah and simply wanted to talk strategy, but crew chief Dan Iassogna had to intervene and remind Schneider that, with this being the second mound visit of the inning, Manoah would have to be removed.
The Blue Jays were forced to remove Alek Manoah from the game because John Schneider did not realize it was the second mound visit pic.twitter.com/e5eK64ZeaZ
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 20, 2023
The Blue Jays wound up bringing in reliever Tim Mayza, who got pinch-hitter Joey Ortiz to fly out to the warning track to escape the inning. Manoah ended up throwing just 85 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
This is hugely embarrassing for Schneider. While MLB has adjusted rules regarding mound visits in recent years, the two-visit limit has always been in place. Perhaps he simply forgot that the first visit had been taken already, but at the very least, someone on the bench needs to be aware enough to stop him from going out given the situation.
It’s been quite the week for Schneider, who also courted some controversy against the New York Yankees before his flub.
