Among the thrills John Schneider was anticipating on the opening night of the Blue Jays first World Series appearance in 32 years was catching the ceremonial first pitch. That’s because the man throwing it out is the manager who brought everlasting glory to the franchise by leading them to both the 1992 and 1993 championships.

For the first time since 1993, the Blue Jays won the American League pennant. The Dodgers await them in the World Series.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider introduced a new level of optimism to ongoing conversation around the possibility that one of his biggest bats might be available for the World Series starting with Game 1 on Friday.