Bass made his MLB debut with nine games for the Twins in 1977, going 2-for-19 at the plate as a 23-year-old with a September call-up.
He’d spend the next three seasons making brief MLB appearances, with 2, 2, and 19 games respectively between 1978 and 1980 for three different teams: Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres.
In 1981 he’d have what turned out to be his most active season over his six-year career when he played in 69 games for San Diego, hitting .210 over 176 at-bats, hitting four homers while driving in 20.
He’d split the 1982 season with San Diego and the Texas Rangers, hitting a combined .205 over 29 games and 78 at-bats, hitting two homers while driving in 14 before spending the rest of the year in the Minors.
In 1983 he’d make the move to Japan, where he ended becoming a star slugger, even challenging the Japanese single-season home run record in 1985 when he slammed 54 homers with 134 runs batted in.
He followed that season up with a 47 homer year in 1986, driving in 109 runs while hitting an astounding .389 for the Hanshin Tigers.
In his six seasons in Japan, he hit 202 homers, topping 30+ four times, before retiring for good after the 1988 season, hitting 449 homers over his professional career.
