Garry McCarthy has a few hardballs of his own after attacks from Mayor Emanuel

Let’s play ball!

On the pitching mound: Mayoral candidate Garry McCarthy, who is planning to attend the White Sox home opener Thursday.

“The day I declared for mayor, Rahm came out swinging with attack ads,” said McCarthy.

“He doesn’t want to talk about policy.

“I’m talking shootings, he’s talking Trump,” said McCarthy, who also hails from New York.

“I talk schools, he’s talking [former New York Mayor] Rudy Giuliani,” said McCarthy, who worked with Giuliani at “Ground Zero on 9/11.”

“I talk economy, he’s talking global warming. Ever since then, I’ve been fielding his attack strategy — which isn’t about talking policy.

“He doesn’t want to pitch to me, so he pitches around me. I think he wants to see if I’ll swing at bad pitches.

“So I’d like to pitch him some advice,” added McCarthy, a former college baseball player.

“There is a saying in sports: ‘Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.’

“Well, Rahm can be as offensive as he wants. He’s gonna lose!”

Whoa.

Next up at bat?

The Vallas view . . .

Mayoral hopeful Paul Vallas, who plans to hit the campaign trail soon — but has yet to issue any public statements — has told his campaign he will not participate in any mudslinging.

Where’s Hillary?

Hillary Clinton’s coming to town.

And she has two reasons.

One’s public.

One’s private.

• The private reason: To hang out with celebrated, best-selling Canadian author Louise Penny, who has become a close personal friend.

“It’s a personal, private visit and Louise has never been to Chicago,” said Hill’s best friend, Betsy Ebeling.

“Hillary and I have always connected on books ever since we were little girls. We love Louise’s novels,” she said.

“We spent time with Louise in Montreal after the Democratic National Convention and are going this June to celebrate Louise’s 60th birthday in the little Canadian town in Quebec where she lives.”

• The public reason: Hillary will keynote the first luncheon fundraiser for Ida’s Legacy PAC, which promotes the candidacies of African-American women.

Named after the late social reformer Ida B. Wells, the PAC luncheon is being held on April 12 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.

Sneed is also told Dem gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker, a huge Hillary donor, is tossing a private dinner starring Hillary, and plans to attend the PAC luncheon.

“Hillary has a history with our community and that’s why 96 percent of African-American women voted for her when she ran for president,” said Delmarie Cobb, a PAC spokeswoman.

“They knew her. They identified with her,” added Cobb.

“Black women are more pragmatic. They are not going to burn the house down to get what they want. But they get things done. And we saw how Hillary was treated. I’ve never seen a white woman treated as bad as Hillary in my whole life. Black women can identify with that,” she said.

“While the country is seeing an increase of black women candidates running for office at every level of government and being successful, this wasn’t the case in Illinois.

“For black women, the hurdles are steeper. They don’t have the family, business or financial resources to raise the money to run for higher office. There is no good old boys network for black women.”

How times flies . . .

Jane Pauley, now the host of CBS-TV’s popular show “Sunday Morning,” hits town April 19 to be honored as a distinguished journalist by DePaul University’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence luncheon at the Union League Club of Chicago.

Hmmm.

Hard to believe it was decades ago when Pauley was a hot young star in Chicago’s television firmament.

Sneedlings . . .

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts will hit the City Club of Chicago breakfast May 2 to support Special Olympics Chicago. . . . Congrats to Dr. Edward Mazur, chairman of City Club, on being inducted Thursday into the Roger C. Sullivan High School Hall of Fame as a prominent alumni. . . . I spy: Charlotte Hornet Dwight Howard dining at Gibsons on Rush Tuesday night. . . . Today’s birthdays: Pharrell Williams, 45; Sterling K. Brown, 42; and Lily James, 29.