Two of the most celebrated foreign-born players in NPB history took their place among the greats on Friday afternoon as Alex Ramirez and Randy Bass were voted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

The two sluggers were joined in the Class of 2023 by composer Yuji Koseki.

Ramirez was named on 290 ballots by the Player Selection Committee and garnered 81.7% of the vote to surpass the 75% required for induction. Former catcher Motonobu Tanishige led the remainder of the nominees with 71.3%.

Bass was not elected in his 15 years on the ballot in the Players Division and came close in 2022 in the Experts Division, falling four votes shy of induction. He received 78.6% of the vote this year.

Koseki, who composed the Hanshin Tigers song "Rokko Oroshi," received 76.9% on the Special Selection Committee ballot.

Ramirez, who has since attained Japanese citizenship, had one of the longest and most prolific careers by a foreign-born player in NPB history.

“Rami-chan,” as he was known by fans and competitors alike, played for the Yakult Swallows, Yomiuri Giants and DeNA BayStars across a 13-year career in Japan. Ramirez finished with a .301 average, 380 home runs and 1,272 RBIs. On April 6, 2013, Ramirez became the first foreign-born player to reach 2,000 NPB hits with a home run against the Swallows on a rainy afternoon at Jingu Stadium.

Ramirez’s effervescent personality and his popular home run “performances,” which sometimes included the team mascot, made him a smash hit among NPB fans. His attention to detail and hours of reviewing film of opposing hitters and catchers led to his results on the field, which only added to his popularity.

Ramirez was the Central League MVP in 2008 and 2009, made four Best Nine teams and was an eight-time All-Star.

He played his final NPB game with the BayStars in 2013. He returned as the manager in 2016 and guided DeNA to an appearance in the Japan Series in 2017.

Ramirez might have been the most popular foreign player ever if not for Bass.

The bearded Oklahoman played for the Tigers from 1983 to 1988 and finished with a .337 average, 202 home runs, 486 RBIs and a 1.078 on-base plus slugging percentage. In 1985, he was one of the driving forces behind the Tigers’ only Japan Series championship team, winning the first of his back-to-back Triple Crowns and being named Central League MVP.

Bass maintains an undeniable place in Tigers' history. He is also regularly invited to Japan to participate in the Suntory Malts old-timers’ games alongside other NPB luminaries. In 2013, author and historian Robert Whiting opined that Bass would easily win a vote among Japanese fans about who was the most popular foreign player to compete in NPB.

Bass attributes his fame to the 1985 season, when the Tigers claimed the CL pennant, their first since 1964, before beating the Seibu Lions in the Japan Series, during which he hit three home runs.

He was part of one of the most famous moments in franchise history early that season. That came on April 17, when Bass hit the first of three consecutive Tigers home runs to straightaway center (Bass, batting third, was followed by Masayuki Kakefu and Akinobu Okada) against pitcher Hiromi Makihara and the rival Yomiuri Giants.

Bass kept hitting home runs and went into the final game — against the Giants — with 54 and a chance to tie or break the single-season record of 55, held then by Giants legend Sadaharu Oh. Bass did not receive a fair shot at the mark, as Yomiuri’s pitchers walked him in four os his five at-bats.

Bass hit .350 with 54 home runs and 134 RBIs that season. He won a second straight Triple Crown in 1986, setting the current single-season record with a .389 average and finishing with 49 home runs and 109 RBIs. Bass also had a .4805 on-base percentage, still third all-time on the single-season list, and a .777 slugging percentage that stood as the NPB record until Wladimir Balentien broke it with a .779 mark in 2013.

His NPB career ended abruptly after 22 games in 1988 when he returned home to care for his sick son and endured an acrimonious split with the Tigers.