Baseball writer Rany Jazayerli on fandom, and growing up Muslim in America

“When you are more focused with how other people are practicing their faith than how you are practicing it yourself, you have gone down the wrong path.” – Rany Jazayerli

Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) is a Chicago-area dermatologist, sportswriter, and co-founder of the Baseball Prospectus website. In 1998 he developed the statistical concept of Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP), which evaluates the impact of high pitch-counts in baseball.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf talks to Rany about growing up the son of Syrian immigrant parents in Wichita (3:40); Rany’s move to Saudi Arabia at a young age, and his relationship with Islam, Syria, and America (14:30); the renowned 19th century Arab religious and military leader Abd el-Kader (19:00); perceptions and realities surrounding the Islamic faith and its place in American society (27:00); and Rany’s predictions for the upcoming baseball season (47:30).

For more recent articles from Rany, check out his Ringer article archive.

Notable Links

• A plea for tolerance, by Rany Jazayerli (ESPN article)
• Does This Suit Make Me Look Terrorist To You? (This American Life segment)
• Rany on the Royals (baseball blog)
• K.C. Masterpiece, by Rany Jazayerli (Grantland article)
• The Sweet Superstition of Rooting for the Royals, by Rolf Potts (Atlantic essay)
• Kansas City Star oral history of the 2014 AL Wild Card game
• David Schoenfield (ESPN editor)
• Obama’s Biggest Mistake, by Rany Jazayerli (Ringer article)
• Abd el-Kader and the Massacre of Damascus, by Rany Jazayerli (essay)
• Commander of the Faithful, by John W. Kiser (book)
• Emir Abd el-Kader (religious and military leader)
• Elkader, Iowa (town named for Abd el-Kader)
• Al-Assad regime (Syrian ruling family)
• Sunni Islam (denomination of Islam)
• Wahhabism (Islamic doctrine and religious movement)
• Nation of Islam (African-American religious movement)
• Dave Chappelle (American Muslim comedian)
• Lupe Fiasco (American Muslim rapper)
• Anti-Catholicism in the United States
• Islamophobia in the United States
• Mao II, by Don Delillo (novel)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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