| Sam Khalifa | |
|---|---|
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1963-12-05)December 5, 1963 (age 61) Fontana, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 25, 1985, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 31, 1987, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .219 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 37 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Sam Khalifa (born December 5, 1963) is an American former professionalbaseball player. Aninfielder, Khalifa played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for thePittsburgh Pirates from 1985 through 1987. The first (and to date, only) practicingMuslim to play in the majors, he retired from baseball when his father, Islamic scholarRashad Khalifa, was murdered in 1990.[1][2]
Khalifa was born inFontana, California,[2][3] while his father,Rashad Khalifa, obtained aPh.D in Biochemistry at theUniversity of California, Riverside.[4] As a child, he relocated to theMiddle East on two occasions. When he was a few months old, his family moved toAlexandria,Egypt, where his father worked for theEgyptian government. After three years in Egypt, the Khalifas moved toSt. Louis,Missouri, where they lived for seven years.[5] They then moved toTripoli,Libya, as his father consulted for theLibyan government for a year.[4][5] Then, his family moved toTucson, Arizona.[5]
Khalifa attendedSahuaro High School in Tucson. For the school's football team he played quarterback and was named All-City by the Arizona Daily Star. He received several Division I football scholarship offers to play quarterback. He also playedshortstop on the school's baseball team, which won the Class 5A state championship, defeatingPhoenix Brophy High School.[4][6] He was named the Arizona High school Player of the Year in 1982 and also selected to the 1982 All American Baseball Team.
Khalifa was chosen by thePittsburgh Pirates as the seventh overall selection in the1982 Major League Baseball Draft.[7] Though he signed aletter of intent to attendArizona State University, Khalifa signed with the Pirates, receiving a $100,000signing bonus.[4] In 1982, he played for theGulf Coast Pirates of theRookie-levelGulf Coast League (GCL) and theGreenwood Pirates of theClass ASouth Atlantic League. In 48games played for Greenwood, Khalifa had a .305batting average.[8] He played six games for the GCL Pirates.[9] In 1983, he played for theAlexandria Dukes of the Class ACarolina League and made the All Star team, batting .270 in 103 games,[10] and received five games of playing time for theLynn Sailors of theClass AAEastern League.[11]
Khalifa spent the 1984 season with theNashua Pirates of the Eastern League in 1984. He batted .238 in Nashua in 91 games, as he missed playing time when he fractured his wrist on two occasions.[5][12] Pirates'managerChuck Tanner wanted Khalifa to begin the 1985 season as a member of the Pirates' major league roster, butPete Peterson, the Pirates'general manager, decided that Khalifa needed to spend time inClass AAA before he would be ready for the major leagues.[5] Khalifa started the 1985 season with theHawaii Islanders of the Class AAAPacific Coast League,[13] and after batting .282 for the Islanders, he made his MLB debut on June 25, 1985, replacing the injuredJohnnie LeMaster, becoming the sixth player to start for the Pirates at shortstop during the 1985 season. The Pirates began the season withTim Foli andRafael Belliard. Foli received his release, while Belliard had been demoted to Hawaii.Jerry Dybzinski received one game at shortstop for the Pirates, who was followed byBill Almon, and the trade acquisition of LeMaster from theCleveland Indians.[5]
Khalifa recorded sixhits in his first elevenat-bats. In his rookie season, he had a .238 batting average across 95 games played. In 1986, Khalifaplatooned at shortstop withRafael Belliard, as Khalifa struggled, batting .185. He was sent down to the minor leagues, andJay Bell solidified himself as the Pirates' starting shortstop.[4] Khalifa played for theVancouver Canadiens of the Pacific Coast League in 1987.[14] He split the 1988 season with theHarrisburg Senators of the Eastern League and theBuffalo Bisons of the Class AAAInternational League.[15] He again played for Buffalo in 1989. One day, he was five minutes late for the team bus, it left without him, and he returned home to Tucson.[6]
Joe L. Brown, the former general manager of the Pirates, arranged a tryout for Khalifa with theSan Diego Padres in 1990.[4] Khalifa quit baseball without attending the tryout following the murder of his father.[4] He played 164 games across three seasons in the majors, most as ashortstop. His primary historical importance arises from his status as the first man ofEgyptian descent to play major league baseball.[6] He ended his career with a .219 batting average,[6] a .294on-base percentage, and a .285slugging percentage.
Khalifa's father,Rashad Khalifa, was murdered on January 31, 1990. Islamic extremists opposed to his teachings were connected to it.[16]Trinidad and Tobago national Glen Cusford Francis was arrested inCalgary on April 28, 2009, in connection with the elder Khalifa's murder.[17] Francis was convicted of Khalifa's murder.[6]
Khalifa is no longer involved with professional baseball. He currently[when?] resides inTucson, Arizona, where he purchased his parents' house. He coaches both baseball and football atSahuaro High School.[citation needed]
El-Hage has also been connected to the 1990 stabbing death of a Tucson mosque leader. Rashad Khalifa was hated by Muslim extremists opposed to his teachings