The Japan Times - 'It's hard' - Jays manager Schneider rues missed chances in World Series defeat

"Man, it's hard," Schneider said. "There's so many things to unpack there ... seven games, two of them extras. I thought we played great baseball, both teams having chances there late. I feel for the guys. This is a special group of guys."

The Blue Jays were trying to cap a remarkable rise from last place in the American League East division in 2024 with their first title since they won back-to-back World Series crowns in 1992 and 1993.

After pipping the New York Yankees for the division title, they knocked out the Yankees in the AL division series, then rallied from 0-2 down to beat the Seattle Mariners in the AL championship series.

They shook off an agonizing 18-inning game three defeat in Los Angeles to win the next two games and return home with a 3-2 series lead only to drop two straight before stunned home fans and watch the Dodgers celebrate on their Rogers Centre field.

"I think right now you just have to kind of, I don't know, take in what happened," Schneider said. "But going forward -- you know, the beauty of baseball is that it goes on.

"There will be spring training in February. That being said, you take away the sacrifices the guys made, the way they went about it, the performances everyone had, and kind of just the cohesiveness of the team," he added.

"We had our chances to beat them soundly, and we didn't, and that's baseball."

The memory of the ninth inning, when Toronto loaded the bases but failed to score, will certainly linger.

"I'll relive those bases loaded at-bats for a long time," Schneider said. "But, man, I've said it so many times. I trust everyone on this roster, and you want to let them decide the outcome of the World Series.

"That was an epic World Series for a variety of different reasons. So at the end of the day, players, they can become legends or they can be this close, and we were this close, and I'm just proud that we went about it the right way."

S.Yamada--JT