SIMMONS SAYS: Blue Jays’ Joe Carter statue celebrates a moment, not a career

Published Jul 05, 2026  •  Last updated 26 minutes ago  •  9 minute read

Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a home run to win Game 6 of the 1993 World Series on Oct. 23, 1993 in Toronto. Photo by Stan Behal /Toronto Sun

Article content

Article content

Article content

Carter is fifth in Blue Jays career home runs, fifth in RBIs, 19th in the ever-important OPS category, 27th in on-base percentage, ninth in slugging and 24th in batting average.

His WAR in Toronto was a rather low 8.4, which ties him with Adam Lind, who is not exactly a candidate for a statue. Carter had good numbers and a sound career with the Jays, not doubt about that. But he wasn’t Michael Jordan, Bobby Orr, Hank Aaron or anyone else who has been honoured with a statue outside of major arenas or ball parks in North America.

Carter had the one statue moment with the Jays in ’93. Was it a bigger home run than the one Alomar hit in Oakland the year before, or the pinch-hit homer Ed Sprague hit at Atlanta in 1992? If those two homers don’t happen, there is likely no ’93 World Series.

That part can be debated. So can the choice of Carter to represent 50 seasons of Blue Jays baseball. The choice here was easy. The choice was probably wrong.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ed Belfour makes a save during a game in 2002. Photo by Jeff Bassett /Postmedia Network

THIS AND THAT

When the Maple Leafs signed Ed Belfour in 2002 to replace the departing Curtis Joseph, the move was almost universally panned. Belfour was coming off the worst season of his career in Dallas. He was 37 years old and thought to be breaking down. The only person I found who seemed to believe in him — other than Pat Quinn who signed him — was his former coach, Ken Hitchcock. As was usually the case with Hitch, he was proven right. Belfour’s first two seasons with the Leafs were probably the greatest two years in goal in the modern history of the club. He was one year younger than the decorated Sergei Bobrovsky, whom the Leafs have signed in free agency to play goal. I would doubt Bobrovsky’s ability to bounce back after a difficult season in Florida if I hadn’t watched Belfour so closely during his time in Toronto. He was sensational. My one worry: Florida GM Bill Zito chose to let Bobrovsky walk from the Panthers. He traded for Jacob Markstrom. Zito is just about the best GM in the NHL. What does he know about Bobrovsky that the Leafs don’t seem to know? … Two supporters of Bobrovsky’s ability to bounce back: Dale Tallon, the GM who first signed him in Florida, and Paul Maurice, his Stanley Cup coach with the Panthers … Taking hyperbole to a new level, Leafs GM John Chayka referred to Bobrovsky as someone who “possibly ends up being the best in that position of all-time.” Now, we know Chayka is young and new at the job, but isn’t he old enough to be able to reference the careers of Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Ken Dryden, Grant Fuhr, Bernie Parent and Glenn Hall? And that’s without mentioning Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower, Belfour, Tony Esposito and Carey Price? … Keith Pelley assured us that everything about the new Leafs will now be data-driven. So explain this one: What’s the data on spending $4.2 million a year on the 11-points Colton Sissons scored last season in Vegas? … I admire Chayka for the signings of Bobrovsky and defenceman Darren Raddysh, and even for trading for the diminishing asset that is Nick Paul. I do wonder about the free-agent additions of Sissons, Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen. Too much of the same, the hockey equivalent of garage-sale pickups but not necessarily at garage-sale prices.

Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates a goal against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of their first-round of Stanley Cup playoff series. Getty Images

Article content

Article content

HEAR AND THERE

A non-hockey fan friend called me to tell me about the huge offer sheet signing by Philadelphia. “Isn’t that a lot of money for Leo Komarov?” When I stopped laughing, which is something that’s not happening in Anaheim right now, I told him it was Leo Carlsson, who looks a little like Macklin Celebrini-lite with the Ducks. He is going to be a great NHL player. Question is: For which team … The Ducks’ problem: They can’t afford to sign him and they can’t afford not to … Twenty million a year seems not of this hockey orbit, but when you compare it to other major sports, it’s rather thin: It’s $70 million for Shohei Ohtani in baseball, $64 million for the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes, Steph Curry at $62 million in the NBA. Each of them paid almost six times more than the Oilers pay the great Connor McDavid … When the Leafs decided to fire Mike Babcock as coach, way back when, one of the reasons was their belief in his ability to look forward and be modern in his coaching. Which makes it interesting now in Edmonton, where Babcock is now coach of the Oilers. His newly signed goaltender Freddie Andersen started 192 games in his first three seasons with the Leafs. That was eight years ago. Andersen can still play, but can he stay healthy for a whole season and be healthy for a playoff run? Babcock is going back to the future on this one … If you do the math and try to do that data, the Leafs have at least nine bottom-six forwards … Chayka and Mats Sundin seem to be doing everything in their power to distance themselves from the previous administration led by GM Brad Treliving and coach Craig Berube. They have moved out Joseph Woll, Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo, Matias Maccelli, Nick Robertson and Calle Jarnkrok. They have tried to move Morgan Rielly. And no one for public purposes knows what the status is of the injured Max Domi. Also, forgotten: The best playoff run the Leafs have had in the past 23 years came two seasons back, with Treliving in charge and Berube coaching. And Brendan Shanahan as club president … By nature, I’m not by a sporting conspiracy theorist, but I do wonder whether there is any chance of Zach Werenski becoming a Maple Leaf this summer. The reason? Werenski is represented by Judd Moldaver, who happens to be both close friends and agent of Leafs captain Auston Matthews. Werenski and Matthews are also friends. Is there an avenue to see Werenski as a Leaf? Could power-broker Moldaver make that happen?

Canada players huddle after their team lost 3-0 to Morocco during a FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match at Houston Stadium on July 4, 2026 in Houston. Photo by Lars Baron /Getty Images

Article content

SCENE AND HEARD

It is very possible that the three or four most-watched television programs in Canada this year will be World Cup soccer games including Team Canada. The television audiences in both Canada and the United States have been enormous for the tournament. Team USA games are drawing Sunday Night Football type viewership. The Canada games did twice what a Grey Cup would do, or more than three times what a Stanley Cup final audience would be. The numbers are not as large as the Blue Jays numbers from last fall’s World Series. But for soccer, it’s an amazing breakthrough in North American television. That’s the likely legacy of this World Cup … There is a penalty in soccer called ‘simulation’. Essentially, it’s the hockey equivalent of embellishment. It’s rarely, if ever, called. It should be called five to 10 times every game … Watching Canada be eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday, you had to wonder: What would this team have been with a healthy Alphonso Davies and a healthy Ismael Kone? They outplayed Morocco in the first half Saturday. Then the teams separated. What would the Oilers be without McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? … What passes for breaking news these days is indeed curious. I saw a story breaking, announcing the retirement of Kyle Lowry. Like, we didn’t know he was retiring? Then, a breaking story pushing those phony one-day retirement contracts for Lowry as a Raptor. Anyone not see this coming? Up next, someone will break the story that the Raptors will retire Lowry’s number, which has been apparent from the day they retired Vince Carter’s jersey. In fact, the Raptors basically told Lowry what they were doing with Carter and how he would be next.

Kawhi Leonard holds the NBA Finals MVP trophy during the Toronto Raptors victory parade in 2019. Getty Images

Article content

AND ANOTHER THING

This is what the Raptors need to do with Kawhi Leonard: They need to execute their load management program again. They need to find a way to have Leonard play 60-65 games. They need to win enough games to have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They need Leonard healthy in April. If they do all that, they should contend big-time in the Eastern Conference … Weird: Still not a word from the NBA on the investigation into the Kawhi signing in Los Angeles. It’s as if the league were hoping this will just go away … What a Toronto week! Bo Bichette all emotional on Monday. Kawhi acquired on Tuesday. Bobrovsky signed on Wednesday. Fabulous World Cup soccer game at the Ex on Thursday. I’m out of breath … Clearly, Ontario education minister Paul Calandra didn’t play high-school sports. If he did, he wouldn’t say something as foolish as urging parents to keep their kids in classes, rather than have them leave for sporting tournaments. I’m a huge supporter of high-school sports. There is more value to be gained from participation in team sports than in many of the classes taught in school. I was in high school 50 years ago: I remember more about the football teams and lacrosse teams I played on than anything from physics, algebra or chemistry … Sheldon Keefe is in trouble as coach of the Devils. New Jersey plans to start the season with Nico Daws and Jake Allen as their goalies … Canada should wear red and white for every international event in every sport. Those are our colours … There is nothing less valuable than team ratings the day after the NHL or NBA drafts. The time to evaluate who did what in the draft is about five years after draft day … The problem with saying anyone has been snubbed by the Hockey Hall of Fame voters is this: We are not privy to knowing who is or isn’t nominated for the Hall in any given year. Years ago, I mentioned to a Hall voter that Eric Lindros was snubbed. He told me — and he wasn’t supposed to — that Lindros wasn’t even nominated that year. So, when I contend that Pekka Rinne was chosen for the Hall ahead of Cujo, I do that with absolutely no knowledge that Joseph has ever been considered … Canada made it to the Round of 16 at the World Cup, which is an enormous accomplishment. But imagine if other athletes finished 16th in their events? How would we talk about them? How would we rate them? Having covered no shortage of Olympics, I wonder, how would we write a word about an individual 16th-place finish. We’re better than 16th best in hockey, in baseball, football and basketball. The soccer world is larger than the other sports. But if the World Cup showed me anything, it’s that we have exceptional athletes. We don’t yet have an exceptional soccer team … Happy birthday to Shohei Ohtani (32), Johnny Rodgers (75), Doug Wilson (69), John LeClair (57), Rich Gossage (75), James Lofton (70), Junior Caminero (23), Marco Estrada (43), Fraser Minten (22) and Jake Gardiner (36) … And hey, whatever became of Uncle Dennis Robertson?

Read More

1. 

   SIMMONS SAYS: Justin Bieber fans on his one-timer at NHL draft

2. 

   SIMMONS SAYS: Connor McDavid gave Darren Raddysh the thumbs-up 14 years ago

Article content