Brian Duncan Schneider (born November 26, 1976 in
Jacksonville, Florida) is an American Major League
Baseball catcher for the New York Mets.
Schneider played high school baseball at Northampton
Area High School in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in
Pennsylvania's highly competitive East Penn
Conference (now known as the Lehigh Valley
Conference).
He debuted in the major leagues in 2000 after being
drafted by the Montréal Expos in 1995. During the
2004 season, Schneider posted career highs in hits,
home runs, and runs batted in. Schneider also led
the League in throwing out potential base-stealers
in the 2004 season. Overall, from 2003 through 2005,
he threw out 43.5 percent of would-be base stealers,
the best mark in baseball over that three-year span.
Schneider was behind the plate catching Mike Bacsik
when Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th
career home run on August 7, 2007. In 2007, he had
the lowest range factor of all major league
catchers, 6.46.
On November 30, 2007, Schneider was traded along
with Ryan Church to the Mets for Lastings Milledge.
Schneider currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida.
In 2008, Brian Schneider's Catching for Kids
Foundation was established to support children and
their participation in sports by providing funding
and creative programming. The foundation strives to
enable children of all backgrounds and physical
abilities to enjoy the games they love.
