[2] The Minnesota Twins selected Bass in the seventh round of the 1972 MLB draft out of Lawton High School.

After his contract expired following the 1982 season, Bass signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League, who made him their starting first baseman.

Bass is often credited with single-handedly turning around the fortunes of the Tigers, which ultimately resulted in the team's pennant run and Japan Series title in 1985.

In the last game of the season, the pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants – then managed by Oh – intentionally walked Bass each time, seemingly to prevent him from having a chance to equal or break the record.

[10][1] The general manager of the Tigers, Shingo Furuya, committed suicide after negotiating with Bass over the company's liability for the medical expenses for his son.

[citation needed] In 2023, Bass was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, by way of the experts division, and receiving 78.6% of the vote.

For Bass, someone threw a life-sized model of Colonel Sanders, the mascot of Kentucky Fried Chicken and the only close-at-hand likeness of a bearded American, into the river.

Although Bass' surname would conventionally be transcribed Basu (バス) in Japanese, he is known in Japan as Bāsu (バース, pronounced [baːsɯ]).

[13] After his 1988 retirement, Bass became active in community projects to promote baseball in his native state, while continuing to make trips to Japan as a cultural ambassador.

On April 10, 2014, Bass was named minority leader of the Democrats in the Oklahoma Senate, succeeding the outgoing Sean Burrage.

The reason for this was not given, since caucuses happen behind closed doors and legislators do not publicly discuss matters, but it was speculated that it was because of an opinion piece Sparks wrote in The Journal Record supporting a tax incentive for the oil and gas industry, which was generally opposed by the Democrats.