DUNEDIN, Fla. — Back in 2021, the last time the Toronto Blue Jays went through a cycle of leadership extensions, president and CEO Mark Shapiro described sports franchises that make directional decisions season-to-season as “perpetually spinning.”

Stability and continuity allow executives and coaches to adjust and adapt as needed without forcing widescale organizational turnover, allowing for more structured decision-making, per Shapiro.

“That's a very difficult model to maintain in professional sports, where emotion and momentum factors into so many decisions,” Shapiro added then. “But if you have the strength to do it, it usually is a benefit.”

Over the past few years, the Blue Jays offer some proof of concept for that argument, which is why general manager Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider each received contract extensions Monday.

The organization could easily have reacted to a dismal 2024 season, on the heels of a frustrating wild-card series loss in 2023, by making leadership changes that would have totally reset the team’s approach. Instead, the Blue Jays stayed the course, and allowed the leaders in place to learn from what had gone wrong and apply those lessons.

It resulted in an AL East title and a trip to the World Series.

Shapiro, who had been on an expiring contract, received a five-year extension that runs through 2030 in December, while Monday’s deals tack on another five years for Atkins, now signed........

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