Blue Jays Manager Saves Life at Lunch, Receives Free Beer

It was an eventful Saturday for John Schneider.

It was an eventful Saturday afternoon for Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

Schneider and his wife were out at lunch near the team’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla. when a woman at another table was choking on a piece of shrimp and couldn’t breathe. Schneider reportedly rushed to the woman’s aid, performed the Heimlich Maneuver and saved her life, according to a report from sportscaster Hazel Mae.

Schneider told Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson that he first learned the Heimlich Maneuver in the sixth grade, and that he earned a free beer from the restaurant for his emergency aid.

“I was a little rattled afterwards, so the beer did come in handy,” Schneider said.

Schneider will certainly be hoping for a more low-key experience the rest of the spring in Florida. Toronto’s manager went 46–28 in an interim role in 2022 before the Blue Jays lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Mariners, and he will soon his first full season at the helm.