Pinch Hitting in the Thursday Slot

Hello commuters on the BW Blogway.

As today's guest blogger, I have decided to present to you my awards for the BEST and WORST guest appearances in Baltimore-Washington sports history. Not only will this give us a chance to honor those athletes who impacted our sports lives so much in such a short time. But it will also allow us to take a couple more angry whacks at our favorite dead horses.

What qualifies as a guest appearance? Good question.

I have decided to go with athletes that graced, or disgraced, us with their presence for three seasons or less with a local team and spent the majority of their careers with other franchises. I am looking for hired guns that were brought in for immediate returns. Some hit a bull's eye while other missed the target completely and injured several spectators in the process.

Are we all on the same page? No? Great, let's go!

I always like to save the best for last, so this blog will start with my WORST guest appearance award. Now I had several equally horrifying candidates for this dishonor, so let us first give some credit, or not, to those who missed the cut:

Elvis Grbac

Elvis came to the Ravens the year after they won the Super Bowl in 2001 behind arguably the greatest defense of all time. Raven's brass hoped Elvis could make the Ravens dominant on both sides of the ball. In his opening press conference Elvis boasted, "It's time that a quarterback comes in here and provides leadership, a go-to guy, a vertical passing game. This is a great team. I can make it better." Well, at least he had confidence.

Instead of fulfilling his promise, Elvis put up mediocre numbers while leading the 18th ranked offense in the league. The Ravens ended the season 10-6 record and a loss in the 2nd round of the playoffs to the hated Steelers. Considering Jamal Lewis was lost for the year during the pre-season that record is semi-respectable.

What made matters worse was the fact that he was seen crying on the sidelines after being "All Shook Up" by the jeers of the home town fans. Elvis then check into the "Heartbreak Hotel" and left the building the following after refusing a pay cut. If it makes Ravens fans feel any better, not likely, he did win the title at 1998's Sexiest Athlete alive...by mistake. Oops

Jaromir Jagr

In 2001, the Washington Capitals signed Jagr to the biggest contract in the history of the league. He supposed to be the last piece of a championship puzzle. Instead he averaged 27 goals over three seasons with the Caps and the team never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. He even cut his trademark mullet...come on!

Figuring he was washed up, the Caps traded him to the Rangers for Anson Carter while agreeing to pay a large portion of his salary over the remainder of his deal. In his first season with the Rangers he had 54 goals and 60 assists and won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the best player in the league. Carter compiled 10 total points with the Caps and was traded a month later. He was in consideration for my first price but then i discovered Mini Jagr, who saved him from this dubious distinction.

And the award for the WORST guest appearance by a BW athlete goes to...

Glenn Davis

Pictured to the right in a sweater he stole from Bill Cosby, Glenn Davis came to Baltimore as a two-time All Star with the Houston Astros averaging 27 dingers and 85 RBIs over the previous six seasons. He was supposed to be the centerpiece of the O’s line for years to come. In fact, Oriole’s management thought so highly of him they traded three of their top you prospects for him: Curt Schilling. Steve Finley, and Pete Harnisch. How did Glenn do?

He played 185 games in three injury-riddled seasons in which he hit just 24 total home runs and drove in a paltry 85 RBIs. In 1993, his jaw was broken in a bar fight and his career with the Orioles was mercifully over. What made matters worse was the fact that Schilling went on to become one of the elite pitchers in baseball, Finley was a two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, and even Harnisch had two 16-win seasons after leaving Baltimore cementing this trade as one of the worst in baseball history.

Now lets get to the to the good guys. These fine gentlemen are what make sports so great. They are the underdogs written off by other franchises only to resurrect their careers and become fan favorites. Again, we start with our honorable mentions:

Eric Davis

After successful stints with the Reds and Dodgers in the early 90’s, Davis was considered a 5-tool player and was among the most exciting athletes in the game. However, Davis’ career was sidetracked by injuries and causing him to retire in 1996 after two seasons with the Tigers. After taking a year off to recover Davis returned to the league in 1996 and was signed by the Orioles in May of 1997. Davis got off to a fast start in Charm City hitting .306 with 8 home runs and 25 RBIs in 42 games.

But tragedy struck early in the season as Davis was diagnosed with colon cancer causing him to leave the team for treatment. Davis was determined to play again that season though the odds were against him. He bravely returned to the team in September while still in treatment for his illness. Davis even found enough strength to smash a game winning home run in Game 5 of the 1997 American League Championship Series.

Though the O’s eventually lost the series, his heroics would not be soon be forgotten. Davis had solidified himself as a mainstay in the Oriole’s lineup and was brought back for 1998 season. He went on to have one of his best seasons, batting .327, the 4th best average in the AL, and hitting 28 homers along with a 30 game hit streak.

Steve Francis

Francis transferred to the University of Maryland in 1998 after spending two season at the illustrious Allegheny Community College. The addition of the highly touted JUCO transfer helped propel the Terrapins to a #5 preseason ranking and had the terps ranked #2 in the nation by December. The Terrapins finished second in the ACC that year and Francis was named to the All-ACC first team and the All ACC Tournament team.

Francis’ sick handles, flashy dunks, and entertaining bravado immediately made him a fan favorite.The Terrapins entered the 1998-99 NCAA tournament as a number 2 seed but were defeated by Ron Artest’s St. Johns crew in the Sweet 16. However, with Francis at the helm, the Terps set a school record-setting 28 wins and only 6 losses. He was named a second team All-American and was named a finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Player of the year Awards.

Francis entered the NBA the following year and was the #2 overall pick. Francis jersey now hangs in the rafters of the Comcast Center and his lasting legacy will always be his high-flying dunks. Some of which can be seen here, here, and here.

And the award for BEST guest appearance by a BW athlete goes to, (drum roll please)…

Trent Dilfer

Dilfer is far and away my #1 choice for this award because his arrival coincided with the first and only Super Bowl championship in Raven’s history. And yes, I know the defense had a little something to do with that but it was always the Raven’s quarterback play that seemed to hold them back.

Dilfer signed with the Ravens on March 8, 2000 as backup for Tony Banks. After four straight weeks without an offensive touchdown, the Ravens replaced Banks with Dilfer and failed to score a touchdown for the fifth straight week. That would be the Ravens last loss of the season as Dilfer and the Ravens “Purple Reign” defense led the team to seven straight wins and a Wild Card berth at 12-4.In the playoffs, Dilfer created just enough offense to win tough road games in Tennessee and Oakland’s Black Hole en route to Super Bowl XXXV.

Halfway through the first quarter of the Super Bowl Dilfer connected with Brandon Stokely on a deep post for a 38-yard touchdown and never looked back. The Ravens eventually won easily, 34-7. Dilfer's game stats were an average 12 completions for 153 yards and 1 TD but his performance would endear him with Raven's fans for years to come. Dilfer was replaced the following year by Elvis Grbac in a move Charm City has never understood. And well…we know how that went. Please feel free to relive your Super Bowl highlights here.

Feel free to leave your favorites choices in our comments section and have a great Thursday everyone.