Overview: This is the story of a little-known San Diego Padre who becomes a Japanese baseball legend—Japan’s Babe Ruth—and later, an elected official who supports gay marriage in conservative Oklahoma
Swing back to 1980.
Pete Wilson is San Diego’s mayor, Seaport Village has its grand opening, and, after finishing 25 games under .500 the previous season, the San Diego Padres are excited about the arrival of Randy Bass.
The Oklahoma farm boy is expected to provide the left-handed power bat that my Padres desperately need.
My mom drives me to San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley for a meet-the-players event, where I snap this pic of him.
But it turns out, Bass is yet another in a string of disappointments for the Padres, and only hangs around a couple more years in Major League Baseball.
From San Diego Padres Disappointment to Japanese Baseball Legend
In Japan, however, he gains new life with the Hanshin Tigers, becoming a home-run hitting legend—Japan’s Babe Ruth—and winning four consecutive batting titles.
In 1985, he challenges Sadaharu Oh’s record of 55 home runs in a single season, finishing with 54. In the last game of the season, the pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants – then managed by Oh – intentionally walks Bass each time, seemingly to prevent him from having a chance to equal or break the record.
In November 1988, Bass returns to the U.S. because his son Zach is diagnosed with brain cancer. The Tigers release him for leaving without permission from the team, despite Bass having recorded evidence of the contrary. The general manager of the Tigers, Shingo Furuya, commits suicide after negotiating with Bass over the company’s liability for his son’s medical expenses. After that, Bass files a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Tigers.
The Infamous “Curse of the Colonel”
Bass is also famous in Japan for the “Curse of the Colonel.” Following the 1985 Central League Pennant victory, revelers celebrated by calling off the names of team members one by one. After each name, a fan who looked like that player would jump into the filthy D?tonbori canal.
When Bass’s name is called, someone throws a life-sized model of KFC’s Colonel Sanders into the river. The statue disappears and is said to have cursed the team, causing its consistently poor performance over many years. The Tigers go on to beat the Seibu Lions to win the 1985 Japan Series, their only Japan Series title until 2023.
In 2023, years after his quiet stint with the San Diego Padres, Randy Bass is inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Courage beyond the batter’s plate
What Bass achieves in Japan as a baseball player would be enough for most of us, but instead of resting on his laurels, he returns to his home state of Oklahoma to determine his next challenge. He decides to run for public office, and in 2004, Bass is elected Oklahoma State Senator as a Democrat.
His position on gay marriage, particularly in conservative Oklahoma, shows courage. In June 2015, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling legalizes same-sex marriage nationally, Bass–while serving as Oklahoma Senate Minority Leader–issues this statement:
“With this decision, consenting adults across the country are now assured that they can find their happiness in the bond of marriage, regardless of where they live. It is time for us in the legislature to honor the separation of church and state, move on, and stop wasting time and taxpayer dollars on tired, discriminatory issues that minimize and marginalize thousands of Oklahomans.”
After a baseball journey to Japan that seems nothing short of mythical, he serves the public for 14 years more years until he’s termed out in 2018.
Okay, so he didn’t produce for the Pads, or the three or four other teams he saw time with.
But maybe that’s the way it was suposed to be.
Editor’s Note: Check out “Former San Diego Padre gets 2 Life Sentences” OR “PSA is a part of San Diego’s history, for better and for worse”
Leave a Reply