Many of you are probably aware of the fact that the Hanshin Tigers have a long history of scandal and notoriety. During the weeks before the upcoming season, we will look at ten of the most interesting ones. We continue here with the best hitter in team history losing his job for putting family first.
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First of all, if you do not know who Randy Bass is, go ahead. Click/tap on his name and read about his greatness. OK, I get it. Too long to care. Suffice it to say that he won the Triple Crown in back-to-back years, holds the NPB record for highest single-season batting average, and was/is revered as a god in the Osaka area because of his superior hitting ability. Obviously, without him, there is no Japan Series Championship in 1985.
Well, early in 1988, his son Zachary starts to feel ill. After numerous trips to doctors in Japan, Bass decides it’s best to go back to America to get more specialized doctors to check on his son. Though the season is already underway, the club and Bass reach an agreement that he can be away for as many as six weeks.
Complications occur, and Bass has to stay overseas even longer. Through his agent, as well as through his friend Keigo “Kenny” Hirao (a Japanese man who has written one book about Bass and translated the man’s diary for a second publication), he informs the team that he needs longer. Though at first, it seems the team has OK’ed a more lengthy absence, he receives a phone call in the early hours of June 27.
“They’ve released you.”
The team had run out of patience and despite a last-place finish in 1987 and a poor start to 1988, there was enough urgency to fire the best home run hitter the team has ever had (and second best in NPB history by PA/HR). The story gets even more interesting, though.
Bass calls the team out on a clause in his contract that stipulates the club will pay all medical expenses for him or any of his family members. The team was lazy about taking out insurance for said agreement, and as a result, rebuffed his offer. They sent a team representative to America to negotiate. No compromise from Bass and ultimately the Tigers cover the costs.
Still, the damage has been done. Despite Bass having a deep love for the Hanshin Tigers team and its fans, he told us in 2017 that the broken relationship has still not actually been repaired.
For the record, Bass has just recently finished up serving nearly 15 years as an Oklahoma state senator. His son Zachary is healthy and working for Goodyear in America. Click/tap here to read our interview with Bass from October 2017.
Here is a clip from an interview Bass did soon after his release.