Passion for game, faith drives Padres' Greene (ritual, tradition, follower)

[Green Gaia]

From the San Diego Union-Tribune

Passion for game, faith drives Padres' Greene

By Sandi Dolbee
STAFF WRITER




He's a rising star who is making infield plays like an Olympic gymnast and is a much-heralded candidate for National League Rookie of the Year.

But spend some time with San Diego Padres shortstop Khalil Greene and you'll find out that "hot dog" isn't exactly his middle name.

Actually, his middle name is Thabit, which means "steadfast." His first name means "friend of God."

"I think my dad said in an interview one time that he named me that because he felt that if I could live up to that title that I'd be doing fairly well for myself," Greene says.

Like his parents, Greene is a Baha'i (pronounced Bah-HIGH), the follower of a religion founded in the 1800s by a prophet called Baha'u'llah (pronounced Bah-hah-oo-lah) in what is now Iran. The faith's roots are in the Islamic tradition, akin to Christianity's link to Judaism. Its tenets include the recognition of the oneness of humanity and the elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty.

There are 5 million to 6 million Baha'is worldwide and roughly 2,000 in San Diego County, but Greene may be only the second one to play big-league baseball.

Greene, 24, says he has found himself relying more and more on his faith.

"More recently, I've been more conscious of it," he says. "There are so many things you can apply it to in terms of handling failure, handling success, dealing with any type of pressure that is applied, whether it be by others, by yourself."

He talks about the Baha'i teachings on selflessness, how "it's not out to benefit one person" and its understanding of the importance of balancing materialism and spirituality.

But sorting out exactly what is faith-driven in this infielder is like trying to sort the blades of the Petco Park grass. "For me," he says, "it just kind of envelops everything."

Still, there is something about this young man who speaks softly, almost shyly as he sits in the dugout before a game. It's a humility that observers have frequently noticed on the field, where he seems to be a reluctant hero amid the adulation of a season to cheer about.

A few years ago, when he was playing for Clemson University in South Carolina, a coach told a reporter how he had to coax the star athlete to tip his cap to an applauding crowd. In San Diego, there's a story of how he had to be pushed by his teammates to make a bashful curtain call after he made a dramatic play.

In the Baha'i tradition, there is no clergy and each assembly is governed by officers who are elected without any campaigning. Perhaps that has rubbed off on his playing, too. "That type of attention being kind of thrust upon you, to me, doesn't feel natural," Greene says.

For him, it's all about the joy of playing the game – and keeping a sense of perspective, whether it's his solid performance at the plate or making a diving stab to start a double play.

"I understand baseball's a game. It's entertainment," he says. He loves it. The word he uses is "ecstatic." But lest he gets carried away, he also says he knows he's not exactly changing the world.

"I feel that if I accept the fact that what I do brings happiness to people and they enjoy watching me play, then I feel that in itself is a form of worship," he says. "We're taught in (the Baha'i) faith that your work can be a form of worship. I try to do that and play the game like it's meant to be played."

Greene says he's always tried to live by his faith and has felt a closeness to God. But lately, he's begun to better understand what he was taught when he was growing up in Pennsylvania and Florida.

"I just feel that it's the right time. Maybe I wasn't ready before to assume the responsibility, but now I think it's my duty to learn as much as I can," he says.

Greene laughs a little when he's asked about the female fans who scream when he comes up to bat. He doesn't go out much, he says, and he has a girlfriend who lives in Florida. "There's not people throwing themselves at me. . . . It's not like you go to a hotel and there are people waiting at the door when you come home."

He does, however, frequently hear from Baha'is who are following his progress. "Even when I go to some places, they'll come and say hello. It's great. That's something about the faith that's one of the best things about it, you feel an instant connection with another person that's a Baha'i," he says.

When Greene was called up to the Padres at the end of last season, Tom Mennillo, associate editor for The American Baha'i newspaper, says he found only one other Baha'i who had played Major League Baseball – pitcher Albert Raffo with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969. But there have been other Baha'i celebrities – including jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, soft rock singing duo Jim Seals and Dash Crofts and, more recently, comic Omid Djalili, who played Nasim on the "Whoopi" TV sitcom.

Susan Collins, corresponding secretary for the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of San Diego, says she's "thrilled" that Greene is in a Padres uniform. There are three Baha'i centers in San Diego County – in Linda Vista, Oceanside and Escondido.

Collins says she understands why Greene hasn't come to local services. "His life is just too intense." When she gets a chance to meet him, she says she'd like to "share with him how delighted I am that he's here and the community is anxiously waiting to get to know him."

Greene prays and reads Baha'i writings each day. Before sunset, even at the ballpark, he'll find a quiet spot to say a prayer that begins, "I bear witness, oh my God, that thou has created me to know thee and to worship thee."

Greene was drafted by the Padres in 2002. After he signed with the team, he bought a BMW SUV. "I just wanted to drive a car that's nice," he says. He gave his sister his Geo Prizm.

After Greene made his big-league debut, a sports writer observed how the shortstop celebrated by heading to the training room after the game. "Grounded," is how one scout described him. Greene calls it a matter of staying centered, which his faith helps him achieve.

The buzz is that Greene is a keeper. The next great Padre? He's not ready to talk about how he'll be remembered.

"No matter how good you are, sooner or later you're not fresh anymore, you're not going to be the hot thing going," he says.

And so he'll play for as long as he can. "I believe that I'll have a successful career and then I'll go on from there."

[Amalcas]

Hadn't heard about this guy before. Infact, the only celebrity I had heard of before was Dizzy, because I love his music.
The article did describe a good bit of why we don't tend to be celebritites; humility is a large part of our teachings. So being a celebrity would be markedly uncomfortable.

[mankind_iz_one]

Thank you for posting this, Maize.