Voting Station

Randy Bass

Please vote to see the next celebrity.

Baseball Player

The Resume

    (March 13, 1954- )
    Born in Lawton, Oklahoma
    First baseman for the Minnesota Twins (1977),, Kansas City Royals (1978), Montreal Expos (1979), San Diego Padres (1980-82), Texas Rangers (1982), and Hanshin Tigers (1983-88)
    Major League Baseball statistics: .212 batting average, 9 home runs
    Nippon Pro Baseball statistics: .337 batting average, 202 home runs
    Oklahoma State Senator (2005-19)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was rarely a starter in the Majors, usually being brought out to pinch hit.
    His last name would normally have been rendered as 'Basu' in Japanese, but 'basu' is also the word for bus and the owner of the Tigers also owned the Hanshin bus line and worried that sportswriters might make Bass/bus puns in headlines that could reflect poorly on the bus lines. As a result, his last name became 'Bāsu' instead.
    He was indirectly responsible for bringing the 'Curse of the Colonel' down on the Tigers. To celebrate the team's 1985 Japan Series victory, revelers would call out the names of team members one by one. For each name, a fan who looked like the ballplayer would jump into the Dotonbori canal. Since it was tough to find a fan who looked like Bass, a life-size statue of KFC's Colonel Sanders was thrown instead. The Tigers went on an 18-year losing streak, allegedly caused by the late Colonel cursing them for the disrespect shown to his likeness.
    Gilette paid him $185,000 to shave off his beard for an ad campaign (1986).

Why he might not be annoying:

    At five, he was struck by a car, but only suffered a broken nose.
    At twelve, he broke both legs in a boating accident and spent six months in a body cast.
    He owns a cattle ranch.
    He twice won the Japanese triple crown (1985-86).
    As of 2022, he still holds the Japanese record for best single season batting average (.389 in 1986).
    He came close to tying or breaking Sadaharu Oh's record of 55 home runs in a season. He had 54 homers when he faced the Yomiuri Giants -- managed by Oh -- in a doubleheader at the end of the 1985 season. Giants pitchers -- reportedly threatened with fines of $1,000 for each pitch to Bass that was in the strike zone -- walked him every time he came to the plate, keeping Oh's record safe.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying