Carter’s diplomacy efforts falter when it comes to homer

The greatest home run in the history of Canadian baseball doesn’t get the attention it deserves, says the man who hit it, Joe Carter.

Carter won the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays with a three-run home run against Philadelphia Phillies closer Mitch Williams in the bottom of the ninth inning, but when discussion turns to the greatest World Series home runs of them all, Carter’s is always listed below Kirk Gibson’s in 1988, Carlton Fisk’s in 1975 and Bill Mazeroski’s in 1960.

“Mine, it will make the top 10, but it’s never No. 1, it’s never been No. 2, it’s always been in the middle of the pack,” Carter told the Associated Press. “Had it been for the Yankees or the Dodgers, then I think it would have been No. 1. But because it was in Toronto, it has not gotten the respect that I think it really should deserve.

“I know what it meant to myself, my teammates and to the country of Canada. I know that, up here, it would be No. 1. It gets the respect here.”

Carter is ever-protective of his home run, to the point of rooting against the home team in potential World Series-ending games.

“Every year I watch the World Series,” he said, “not the first three or four games, but I’ll always watch that last game of the Series and hope the home team does not win because that way it can’t end on a home run.”

Trivia time

Who was the only major league player to wear his birthday on his uniform?

Pining for retro-ball

Recent NFL rule changes designed to protect the quarterback had former New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison griping to Sports Illustrated’s Dan Patrick.

“Football is a violent sport, played at 100 miles an hour with reckless abandon,” Harrison said. “Guys are going to get hurt. The game is really being soft now. What about the days of Dick Butkus? That’s football. Now it’s like patty-cake.”

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew concurs.

“We should get back to the way people played in the ‘70s,” Jones-Drew said. “I like when people are on the ground, you step on them.”

No interference

Wednesday marked the 79th anniversary of Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett’s catching a baseball dropped from the Goodyear blimp.

“Some reports say the ball was dropped 550 feet, some say more than 800,” wrote David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It was on April Fools’ Day, remember, so trust the reports at your own risk.

“But you can trust us that the Cubs catcher did catch the ball, because it was 1930 and Steve Bartman wasn’t born yet.”

Trivia answer

Carlos May, who wore his birth date, May 17, on the back of his jersey during the last 10 years he played for the Chicago White Sox. May was born on May 17, 1948.

And finally

From Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on news that scientists have discovered an Earth-like planet 457 light-years away: “Over there, the teachers make $6 million a year, and the pro athletes make $60,000.”

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mike.penner@latimes.com