Introduction
Dustin David Nippert (born May 6, 1981 in Wheeling, West Virginia) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.
Early career
Nippert grew up in the small Ohio town of Beallsville, where he played baseball for Beallsville High School. He attended West Virginia University, where he played college baseball for the Mountaineers in 2002.
Professional career
Major League Baseball
Nippert was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft in the 15th round and made his major league debut on September 8, 2005 with the same organization that drafted him. On March 28, 2008, he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Jose Marte.
On June 29, 2008, Nippert threw a seven-inning no-hitter for Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks against the Omaha Royals.
The 2009 season is best on record for Nippert in his major league career, when he compiled a 5-3 record with an ERA of 3.88 in 69.2 innings for the Rangers. During the next year, he was able to shake off a scary incident on July 19, 2010 when he was hit on the side of the head by a line drive hit by Austin Jackson against the Detroit Tigers. The ball was hit so hard that it ricocheted off of his head and past third base into left field. Nippert walked off the field smiling to a standing ovation in Detroit but was placed on the 15-day DL after the game.
Korea Baseball Organization
On March 3, 2011, Nippert signed with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization. Due to his solid performances in a Doosan uniform, the team's fans have christened him "Ninunim" (Korean: 니느님), with the name being a combination of his last name and the Korean word for God "Hanunim" (하느님). In the 2015 KBO Post-season, he pitched 26⅔ scoreless innings during the Bears run to the fourth Korean Series championship in the team's history. On November 14, 2016, he was voted as MVP of the 2016 KBO League season, becoming the fourth foreign player to be awarded in the 34-year history of the league.
On January 23, 2017, Nippert re-signed with the Doosan Bears for another year, earning 2.1 million dollars per year, which is the highest annual income ever of foreign players in the Korean Baseball Organization.