Way back in July 2007, I wrote a post on Sam Khalifa. Khalifa is the only Muslim to ever play professional baseball at the Major League level. Unfortunately, lack of ability cut short Khalifa's career at the big league level.
The death of his father to Islamic extremists cut short his career in baseball.
Recently, there have been a few more articles written about Sam Khalifa. In December of 2012, the trial began for the man accused of murdering Khalifa's father while Khalifa worked as a cabbie in Tucson, in March it was reported that he finally got back into baseball as a coach for his high school alma mater, and last week, Fangraphs.com writer Alex Remington asked why there haven't been more Muslims in baseball.
In my post, I asked what would have happened if he stayed in baseball. I wondered if he would have been an ambassador for the game in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 and if Khalifa could have eased tensions between eastern and western culture.
Admittedly, that is a lot to ask of anyone. But perhaps, if he decides to get back into baseball, Khalifa could maybe one day find a spot as a coach for a World Baseball Tournament team and become if not a cultural ambassador, at least a baseball ambassador at the national level.
Personally, it is hard to believe I have been blogging for over six years. And not only do I remember when I write something like that, but I still take interest in the subject I wrote about long ago.
That's an interesting feeling.