Dustin Nippert, 43, one of the greatest foreign pitchers in the history of professional baseball, kissed the mound at Jamsil Stadium with tears in his eyes.
Nippert said goodbye to the fans who packed the stadium at his retirement ceremony at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, today (Thursday).
After the game against KT, Doosan players wore Nippert retirement T-shirts to celebrate his retirement.
Kim Jae-ho, Heo Kyung-min, Jeong Soo-bin, Kim Jae-hwan, and Yoo Hee-kwan (retired), who were part of the 2015 and 2016 Korean Series championship teams, presented bouquets of flowers, and “soul mate” Yang Ji-jido also came out onto the field to hug Nippert.
A video of the Doosan players' farewells was then shown on the big screen.
“Baseball is a part of my life,” Nippert said in his retirement speech, ‘and instead of saying goodbye, I want to say thank you.’ He thanked Yang, saying, ”Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today.”
Choking back tears, 카지노사이트 Niepert gave a big bow to the crowd before heading up to the mound and kissing the pitching plate.
Niepert is a longtime foreign pitcher who was an ace for Doosan from 2011 to 2017.
In 2018, he played one season with KT before retiring.
In eight seasons in the KBO, Niepert compiled 102 wins (51 losses) with a 3.59 ERA, the most by a foreign pitcher in the league's history.