24 Facts About Randy Bass

Randy William Bass was born on March 13,1954 and is an American politician and former baseball player.

Randy Bass played in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, and served in the Oklahoma Senate.

Randy Bass moved to NPB in 1983, signing with the Hanshin Tigers, whom he led to a Japan Series title in 1985.

Randy Bass twice won the batting Triple Crown in NPB and still holds the highest single-season batting average.

Randy Bass is considered one of the greatest American players in Japanese baseball history, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.

From 2005 to 2019, Randy Bass represented the 32nd district in the Oklahoma Senate as a member of the Democratic Party.

Randy Bass attended Lawton High School and was named all-state in baseball and football.

Randy Bass received college football scholarship offers from Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma.

Randy Bass signed with the Twins rather than attend college.

Randy Bass made his MLB debut as a first baseman in 1977.

Randy Bass was blocked at first base by Rod Carew and ran out of options after the 1977 season.

Randy Bass is often credited with single-handedly turning around the fortunes of the Tigers, which ultimately resulted in the team's pennant run and Japan Series title in 1985.

Randy Bass adapted quickly to Japanese pitching, hitting 35 home runs in his first season in 1983, and became the Tigers' star slugger for several seasons.

Randy Bass won four consecutive league batting titles; in 1986, he nearly became the first player in Japan to bat.

Randy Bass was released by the Tigers in November 1988 after he returned to the United States as his son Zach was diagnosed with brain cancer and was claimed to have "not given permission to return to the States" by the team, despite Randy Bass having recorded evidence of the contrary.

Randy Bass is famous in Japan for the "Curse of the Colonel".

For Randy Bass, someone threw a life-sized model of Colonel Sanders, the mascot of Kentucky Fried Chicken and the only close-at-hand likeness of a bearded American, into the river.

Randy Bass was elected to the Oklahoma Senate as a Democrat in 2004.

Randy Bass was re-elected in 2006, defeating Ed Petersen in the general election.

Randy Bass was again re-elected in 2010 and 2014, running unopposed in the former, and unchallenged in the latter.

Randy Bass sat on the Appropriations, Retirement and Insurance, General Government and Judiciary Committees.

Randy Bass became minority leader soon after the 2014 mid-term election, but by July 2015, he had been ousted, as the caucus, now down to eight seats, replaced him with Sparks.

Randy Bass was ineligible to run for reelection in 2018 due to term limits.

Randy Bass has two children with his first wife, Linda, and one child with his second wife, Kelley.