Toronto Sports Today

Toronto Sports News Continuously Updated

Davis Schneider’s sisters spearheading his All-Star Game campaign

by

Every election needs a great campaign manager (or managers), and for Davis Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays, his biggest All-Star Game advocates have been his sisters Madeline and Olivia.

Ever since the MLB All-Star Game balloting opened up earlier in June, they’ve been posting a flurry of activity on X (formerly Twitter) hoping to send their baby brother to this year’s All-Star Game in Texas at Globe Life Field.

They’ve gone about it in a wholesome way; not only reminding Blue Jays fans to stuff the ballot box, but the Schneider sisters have also accompanied their plea with a daily photo from the stockpile of Schneider family photos from their childhood home in Berlin, New Jersey, which is about 20 minutes from Philadelphia.

“We just wanted to give him the best shot possible,” Olivia Schneider said, during an interview alongside her sister Madeline. “Sharing the pictures has been really fun, and seeing people react to those. He was always a fun, happy-go-lucky kid. It’s nice to show people that side of him, because all they see is the moustached man who plays baseball.”

Whether it’s photos of Davis while he’s clutching a soft pretzel sitting on Santa’s lap, or a family photo with their late brother Steven all in coordinated polo shirts, the Schneider sisters say it’s all in good fun to drum up awareness for their brother Davis.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

One of Madeline’s co-workers advocated for her family, which led to their entire company hopping on the bandwagon and stuffing the ballot box for Davis. Soon enough, a message went through her company’s Slack channel asking everyone to mark Davis’ name on the ballot.

Madeline had people as far away as Amsterdam voting for her brother. Many of her colleagues had no idea what baseball was or what MLB’s All-Star Game represented. Even some Yankees and Mets fans at her workplace carved out some space on their ballot for the Blue Jays’ utility player.

“I didn’t expect anything to come of that,” Madeline said. “I really wanted it for people who didn’t know what the All-Star Game was. Here’s this guy who deserves this vote, not just because he’s related to me, but because he’s a great ballplayer and an even better person.”

While the Schneider sisters have been banging the drum on social media with these childhood photos of Davis, they’ve also been reaching out to recent contacts in the hopes they’ll write Davis’ name on the ballot as well.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Madeline recently appeared on a game show called “We Are Family” hosted by Anthony Anderson, where she competed alongside 99 other contestants and filmed for two-and-a-half weeks. During her episode, Madeline had a spotlight to shout out to her brother. She reached out to her fellow contestants and asked them to throw a few votes into the ballot box to support Davis’ case for the All-Star Game.

The Schneider family has already been on the road this season to see the Blue Jays play, whether it’s New York, Detroit, or nearby Philadelphia, which due to the proximity of their family home, is a home game for the Schneiders. Davis often stays at home for series so he can spend some quality time with those closest to him, including his dog.

It’s been a meteoric rise since Davis’ promotion to the Blue Jays last August. After hitting a home run in his MLB debut, he’s hit the ground running and elevated himself into the leadoff spot for the team, playing regularly at second base or left field.

From going drafted in the 27th round, to not even breaking camp at Blue Jays Spring Training last year, to garnering ballots for the MLB All-Star Game has been an incredible journey in such a brief span. It’s something both Schneider sisters still haven’t wrapped their heads around.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

“It’s been a really crazy, surreal time,” Madeline said. “I don’t think that feeling will go away. Olivia has said this before, but it’s hard to reconcile the people you see on TV or in the batter’s box during a game, and then you’re like: ‘That’s my brother.’”

As out-of-body as it feels for the Schneider sisters to see their little brother play baseball on the grandest stage, it also harkens back to the good old days of their younger days. They’ve been to games where they sat in the same section as George Springer’s family or Zach Pop’s parents, which felt all too familiar.

“It feels like you’re back in little league because the parents are just excited to be rooting on the kids,” Olivia said. “It does seem like I’m watching him play little league baseball.”

The Schneider sisters are pushing for Davis to make it to the All-Star Game because they want the entire world to know the person they love so dearly. Fans know Davis as the home run-hitting, glasses-wearing, moustache-clad gentleman. But by posting these family photos on X, both Madeline and Davis are hoping they can give a glimpse into the person Davis is like outside of the baseball field.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

“He’s always been an underdog and I think it’s cool that nobody expected him to get to this spot,” Olivia said. “We’ve had family members say: ‘He’s too short, he’s too slow.’ Proving people wrong is what I like the most about this whole situation. He’s so grateful for everything and he’s still the same dorky kid, and he always will be.”

Phase one of All-Star Game voting continues through June 27th, and fans can then vote for the starters from June 30 to July 3. By promoting this campaign and making their case for Davis, Madeline and Olivia are hoping to tap into the devout Blue Jays fanbase who has voted in droves in the past.

Back in 2021, Jose Bautista broke the All-Star Game voting record, and in 2013 and 2016, Blue Jays fans stuffed the ballot box to send Steve Delabar and Michael Saunders to the midsummer classic. With all the work they’re putting in as the de facto campaign chairs, Madeline and Olivia might have some more work to do during the second phase of voting.

“He’s all heart, hustle and humility. That’s who he is,” Madeline said.” He’s someone who wasn’t on any prospect list or wasn’t on anyone’s radar until he came up. He’s a very level-headed person and is taking every day and every day as it comes. I’m just really excited to see what the future holds for him.”

Bonus! Madeline has a podcast called “Movies My Mom Likes,” and a few years ago, she recorded an episode with Davis where they broke down his favourite movie of all time, “When Harry Met Sally.” The episode was recorded in Bluefield while Davis was a member of the Bluefield Blue Jays.