Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider received unexpected comfort from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr following his team's heartbreaking World Series Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kerr's handwritten letter, dated the day after the Blue Jays' October 27 defeat, sat unread on Schneider's desk at Rogers Centre during the offseason. Schneider discovered it upon returning to Toronto after spring training, opening it to find Kerr's empathetic message comparing the loss to the Warriors' 2006 NBA Finals defeat to Cleveland.

Kerr wrote, 'The pain [in 2006] was real... but what always survives through the tough losses is the character and connection of the group. The loss won't define you, but the way you and your guys carried yourselves afterwards will.' Schneider, who signed a two-year extension through 2028 last week, told The Athletic the letter validated his offseason message about resilience. 'It was the message we've been preaching all offseason and in spring,' Schneider stated. 'The run was great, and the heartbreak was real, but it's not going to define who we are. We all went through it together.

What we're going to be defined by is how we persevere through it.' Kerr's words provided Schneider with crucial reassurance that his leadership approach was on the right track.