Anthony Edward Bass (born November 1, 1987) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, and Miami Marlins. Bass has also played for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Amateur career

Bass attended Trenton High School in

Trenton, Michigan Trenton is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. At the 2010 census, the city population was 18,853. A Shawnee village was built in the area by war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. The area later became the site ...

, and

, where he played

for the Wayne State Warriors. As a junior at Wayne State, Bass was named the 2008

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its ele ...

Pitcher of the Year. He was the highest MLB draft pick in Wayne State history.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Bass was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first ro ...

. He worked as a starting pitcher for the Single-A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

and Advanced-A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park s ...

in 2009, and again for Lake Elsinore in 2010. He began 2011 with the Double-A San Antonio Missions, and although he made a single start for the Triple-A

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a minor league baseball team representing Tucson, Arizona in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon for the 2011 season. I ...

in May, he was promoted to the big leagues from Double-A in June. Bass made his major league debut on June 13, 2011, pitching a five-inning start and earning his first major league win. He struck out

Seth Smith Garry Seth Smith (born September 30, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles. He ...

for his first Major League strikeout. He was optioned back to San Antonio the next day, but was recalled again in late June. Bass stayed with the big league club for the remainder of the year, pitching out of the bullpen until making two more starts in late September. He finished 2011 with a 1.68 ERA in 48 innings and 24 strike-outs versus 21 walks. Anthony Bass on July 15, 2011

Bass started 2012 in the Padres bullpen, but was added to the starting rotation on April 12 when Dustin Moseley injured his shoulder. Bass made 14 starts for the club until he went on the disabled list in June with shoulder inflammation. He rejoined the club in September, working out of the bullpen after making three rehab starts with Tucson. Bass finished 2012 with a 2-8 record and a 4.73 ERA in 97 innings, with 80 strike-outs against 39 walks.

Houston Astros

On December 11, 2013, Bass, along with a player to be named later or cash considerations, was traded to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Astros sent Patrick Schuster to the Padres the next day. Bass spent the 2014 season split between the Astros and the team's Class AAA affiliate, the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. He appeared in 21 major league games and earned two saves. He was outrighted off the Astros roster on November 20, 2014. On December 6, Bass elected free agency.

Texas Rangers

Bass signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on December 11, 2014. Bass split time between the AAA level and the Majors, used mainly as a reliever. In 33 games for the Rangers, he compiled a 4.50 ERA in 64 innings.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

After the 2015 season, the Rangers traded Bass and

Leonys Martín Leonys Martín Tápanes (born March 6, 1988), nicknamed "Ikadi", is a Cuban-American professional baseball center fielder who is currently a free agent. Born in Cuba, he played locally for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series, and for the ...

to the

for Tom Wilhelmsen, James Jones, and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

( Patrick Kivlehan). Bass was released by the Mariners on January 7, 2016 and signed with the

on January 8. March 30, 2016, Bass made his NPB debut. Bass earned three wins during the 2016 Japan Series to lead the Fighters to victory in the championship series, including the fourth win for the team to clinch the team's fifth championship.

Second stint with Rangers

Bass signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in February 2017.

Chicago Cubs

On December 20, 2017, Bass signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. Bass was called up to the majors by the Cubs on June 11, 2018 after compiling a 2.28 ERA across 23.2 innings with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. Bass immediately saw action as he pitched the final inning of a 7-2 11 inning victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He was outrighted to AAA on August 12, 2018, and elected free agency on October 11.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 30, 2018, Bass signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. He was released on March 25, 2019. Bass re-signed to another minor league contract on March 28, 2019. He opened the 2019 season with the Louisville Bats. On May 21, he was released by the Reds after exercising an opt-out clause in his contract.

Seattle Mariners

On May 21, 2019, Bass signed a major league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays

On October 29, 2019, the

claimed Bass off waivers from the Mariners. He signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with the team on December 3, 2019 in order to avoid arbitration. On July 24, 2020, Bass made his Blue Jays debut. With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Bass appeared in 26 games, compiling a 2-3 record with 3.51 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched.

Miami Marlins

On January 22, 2021, Bass signed a 2-year, $5MM deal with the Miami Marlins that included a team option in 2023. In April 2021, Bass was the pitcher during an extremely rare walk-off hit by pitch to lose a game against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. With the bases loaded and the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, batter

Michael Conforto Michael Thomas Conforto (born March 1, 1993), nicknamed "Scooter", is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. After he played college baseball for the ...

's elbow was grazed by Bass's pitch, albeit on a clear strike where camera footage seemed to show Conforto recklessly extending his elbow into the pitch. The HBP call was controversial, with umpire

Ron Kulpa Ronald Clarence Kulpa (born October 5, 1968) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46. Umpiring career Kulpa's professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Kulpa ...

saying after the game he felt his own call was in error after reviewing the footage, and Conforto should have been charged with a strike due to an insufficient attempt to avoid Bass's pitch.

Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)

Bass was traded back to the

with

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

native Zach Pop and a

for prospect Jordan Groshans on August 2, 2022.

Personal life

On August 1, 2016, Bass married Sydney Rae James, sister of country singer

Jessie James Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yello ...

and sister in-law of

Eric Decker Eric Thomas Decker (born March 15, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Minnesota, and was dr ...

in a private ceremony. Their first daughter was born prematurely on September 4, 2017. They adopted another daughter in October 2020. Bass has a brother and two sisters. His parents are Ed and Linda Bass.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Anthony 1987 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Michigan Chicago Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Houston Astros players Iowa Cubs players Lake Elsinore Storm players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City RedHawks players People from Trenton, Michigan Peoria Javelinas players Portland Beavers players Quad Cities River Bandits players Round Rock Express players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Padres players Wayne State Warriors baseball players