Japan honors legendary slugger Randy Bass for contributions to country
TOKYO — Congratulations to Randy Bass. It was just announced the Oklahoma native and former Japan baseball star, now 71, was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette Ribbon, as part of the Foreign Nationals’ Honors.
This award recognizes his long-standing friendship with Japan and his remarkable contributions, which include back-to-back Triple Crowns and leading the Hanshin Tigers to their first Japan championship in 1985. He holds the record for the highest batting average in a single season with a mark of .389.
According to Kyoko Shirahase Kuehnert, who has replaced her late husband Marty Kuehnert at ISMAC as Bass’ agent, Randy is “deeply honored and genuinely thrilled” about this recognition. Randy is the first foreign baseball player in NPB since Wally Yonamine to receive this incredible honor. In 2023 he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame along with Alex Ramirez, the only foreigner to achieve 2,000 hits in an NPB career. Ramirez played for the Yakult Swallows, Yomiuri Giants, and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, and later managed the BayStars.
Other foreigners who have made the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, include Yonamine, a Nisei from Maui who played 12 seasons in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants and the Chunichi Dragons, Tadashi Wakabayashi, a Nisei from Oahu who won 237 games as a pitcher in Japan before and after the Second World War, Russian pitcher and 300-game winner Victor Starffin, Lefty O’Doul, who brought big league teams to Japan, including an All-Star squad with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1934, and Horace Wilson, an American teacher who introduced baseball to Japan in 1872.
Bass is reportedly coming to Japan for the Tigers’ 90th anniversary in July.
Other foreigners recognized in this year’s spring decorations from the Imperial Palace include Bill Hagerty, 65, the distinguished Republican Senator from Tennessee who was Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019, and Thomas Bach, 71, the former International Olympic Committee president. Both men were awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Autographed copies of Robert Whiting’s books are available for purchase. These include Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies, You Gotta Have Wa, Tokyo Underworld, The Meaning of Ichiro, Tokyo Junkie, The Chrysanthemum and the Bat. If you are interested in purchasing a book, please send an email to: robertwhitingsjapan@gmail.com
Congratulations and well deserved. I was here in the 80’s and well remember his prodigious home runs. I hope Hanshin took care of him financially for all he did for the franchise. The incident with his departure due to his son’s life threatening illness was a crime. Glad to see Japan is trying to make up for that.