On Saturday, September 14th, the Doosan Bears will hold a retirement ceremony for right-handed pitcher Dustin Nippert before their game against the KT Wiz.
The day’s festivities will also include an autograph session with fans and a ceremonial first pitch from the longtime Bears fan favorite.
In seven years with Doosan, Nippert won 96 games and struck out over 900 batters. His best season was a 2016 campaign in which he posted a phenomenal 22-3 record and a 2.95 ERA, culminating in a KBO League Most Valuable Player award. Nippert also starred in postseason play, most notably during the Bear’s 2015 championship run in which he tossed 26.2 scoreless innings.
Nippert finished his career with one season with the KT Wiz, coincidentally the team the Bears will be facing on Saturday. Nippert won just eight games with the Wiz, but his June 29th victory over the NC Dinos made him the first foreign-born player in KBO history to record 100 career wins.
Before joining the KBO, Nippert spent nine years in the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations. From 2008-2010, Nippert totaled over 198 innings for the Rangers, including making a postseason appearance during the Rangers 2010 World Series run.
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WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
Photo Credit: Dustin Nippert #57 of the Texas Rangers celebrates on the field with his children after defeating the New York Yankees 6-1. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)