| Dustin Nippert | |
|---|---|
 Nippert with the Doosan Bears in 2015 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Born: (1981-05-06)May 6, 1981 (age 43) Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: September 8, 2005, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| KBO: April 2, 2011, for the Doosan Bears | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: July 19, 2010, for the Texas Rangers | |
| KBO: October 13, 2018, for the KT Wiz | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 14–16 |
| Earned run average | 5.31 |
| Strikeouts | 214 |
| KBO statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 102–51 |
| Earned run average | 3.59 |
| Strikeouts | 1,082 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Dustin David Nippert (born May 6, 1981) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played for theArizona Diamondbacks andTexas Rangers ofMajor League Baseball, and theDoosan Bears andKT Wiz of theKBO League. Nippert won theKBO League Most Valuable Player Award in 2016. With eight seasons in the KBO, Nippert holds the record for the longest career of any foreign player.
Nippert grew up in the smallOhio town ofBeallsville, where he playedbaseball forBeallsville High School. He attendedWest Virginia University, where he playedcollege baseball for theMountaineers in 2002.[1]
TheArizona Diamondbacks selected Nippert in the 15th round of the2002 Major League Baseball draft. He made his major league debut against thePittsburgh Pirates 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.[citation needed]
On June 29, 2008, Nippert threw a seven-inningno-hitter for Triple-AOklahoma City RedHawks against theOmaha Royals.[citation needed]
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 byAustin Jackson against theDetroit 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 inDetroit but was placed on the 15-day DL after the game.
On March 3, 2011, Nippert signed with theDoosan Bears of theKorea Baseball Organization,[2] after an attempt to sign with a Japanese baseball team had failed.[3] Due to his solid performances in a Doosan uniform, the team's fans have christened him "Ninunim" (Korean: 니느님), with the name being a portmanteau of his last name and the Korean word for God "Hanunim" (하느님).[4] In the 2015 KBO post-season, he pitched26+2⁄3 scoreless innings during the Bears run to the fourth Korean Series championship in the team's history. On November 14, 2016, he wonKBO League Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the fourth foreign player to be awarded in the 34-year history of the league.[5]
On January 23, 2017, Nippert re-signed with the Doosan Bears for another year, earning $2.1 million per year, which is the highest annual income ever of a foreign player in the Korea Baseball Organization.[6] Nippert pitched to a 14–8 record with a 4.06 ERA during the regular season, and started Game 1 of the2017 Korean Series.[7]
On January 4, 2018, Nippert signed with theKT Wiz. The Doosan Bears had recommended he retire, but Nippert had a strong will to extend his active service. He signed a $1 million contract with the Wiz.[8] On June 29, 2018, with a victory against theNC Dinos, Nippert became the first foreign pitcher in the KBO league to win 100 games in his career.[9]
Nippert has two children, son Caden (born in 2006) and daughter Aubrey (born 2008), from his first marriage.[10][11] He and his ex-wife Carrie divorced in 2014 after 10 years of marriage.[12]
Since 2015, Nippert is married to a South Korean woman.[12]The couple have two children together, Levi and Owen.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Network | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Back to the Ground | MBN | Participant | [13] |
| 2022 | United Fathers | MBC | ||
| 2023 | Physical: 100 | Netflix | ||
| 2024 | A Clean Sweep | Netflix | Participant |