What years did Al Nipper play?

Al Nipper played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1990.

Was Al Nipper a pitcher?

Yes. Al Nipper pitched in the major leagues, recording 46 wins and 381 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Al Nipper hit?

Al Nipper hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.

What was Al Nipper's career batting average?

Al Nipper batted .087 over his career, with 2 hits in 23 at bats.

What was Al Nipper's career ERA?

Al Nipper finished with a 4.52 career ERA, going 46-50 with 381 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Al Nipper have?

Al Nipper recorded 381 career strikeouts.

Al Nipper

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1983-1990)

Al Nipper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1990 for the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 8 seasons. Across 144 career appearances, he went 46-50 with a 4.52 ERA and 381 strikeouts.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 12, 2026

W–L 46–50

ERA 4.52

WHIP 1.44

SO 381

Pitcher PIV -14043.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 188 lb
Born: 4/2/1959 in San Diego, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1983-09-06
Last Game: 1990-07-16

Full name: Albert Samuel Nipper

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Career Pitching Statistics

Al Nipper — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
46	50	144	124	21	0	1	797.2	846	401	97	303	381	4.52	-14043.9

Career ERA 4.52 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — 15.4% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Al Nipper — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1983	BOS	AL	1	1	3	2	1	0	16.0	17	4	7	5	2.25	3.87 (+42%)	97.2
1984	BOS	AL	11	6	29	24	6	0	182.2	183	79	52	84	3.89	3.81 (-2%)	-1312.9
1985	BOS	AL	9	12	25	25	5	0	162.0	157	73	82	85	4.06	3.89 (-4%)	-2227.9
1986	BOS	AL	10	12	26	26	3	0	159.0	186	95	47	79	5.38	3.97 (-35%)	-2899.1
1987	BOS	AL	11	12	30	30	6	0	174.0	196	105	62	89	5.43	4.29 (-26%)	-4287.2
1988	CHN	NL	2	4	22	12	0	1	80.0	72	27	34	27	3.04	3.73 (+19%)	-2420.7
1990	CLE	AL	2	3	9	5	0	0	24.0	35	18	19	12	6.75	3.86 (-75%)	-993.2
Career · 7 seasons			46	50	144	124	21	1	797.2	846	401	303	381	4.52	—	-14,044

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Al Nipper — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
144	23	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	.087	.087	.130	.217	0

Career AVG .087 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 66.4% below league average.

Career OBP .087 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 73.2% below league average.

Career SLG .130 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 66.7% below league average.

Career OPS .217 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — 69.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Al Nipper — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	H	2B	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1983	BOS	AL	3	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	BOS	AL	29	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	BOS	AL	25	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	BOS	AL	26	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	BOS	AL	30	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	CHN	NL	22	23	2	1	6	.087	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	CLE	AL	9	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			144	23	2	1	6	.087	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Al Nipper — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Al Nipper — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1986	WS	BOS	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Al Nipper — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	1	2	1	0	6.1	10	5	2	2	7.11

Playoff Pitching by Year

Al Nipper — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1986	WS	BOS	0	1	2	1	0	6.1	10	5	2	2	7.11

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (288 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Al Nipper — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	67	14	0	2	0	0	.143
Away	77	9	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Al Nipper — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	67	407.0	427	171	129	193	3.78
Away	77	390.2	419	230	174	188	5.30

Last 10 Games — Batting

Al Nipper — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1990-07-16	CLE	OAK	L	0
1990-07-08	CLE	OAK	L	0
1990-07-03	CLE	SEA	W	0
1990-06-28	CLE	BAL	W	0
1990-06-23	CLE	MIL	L	0
1990-04-23	CLE	TOR	L	0
1990-04-18	CLE	KCR	L	0
1990-04-16	CLE	KCR	W	0
1990-04-12	CLE	NYY	L	0
1988-08-11	CHC	NYN	L	3

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Al Nipper — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1990-07-16	CLE	OAK	L	3.1	6	3	3	3	2	1
1990-07-08	CLE	OAK	L	2.1	3	2	2	5	2	0
1990-07-03	CLE	SEA	W	5.0	7	3	2	1	1	0
1990-06-28	CLE	BAL	W	7.0	5	2	2	5	1	1
1990-06-23	CLE	MIL	L	1.2	5	6	6	3	1	0
1990-04-23	CLE	TOR	—	0.0	3	1	1	0	0	0
1990-04-18	CLE	KCR	—	0.2	1	1	1	2	1	0
1990-04-16	CLE	KCR	—	3.0	3	0	0	0	2	0
1990-04-12	CLE	NYY	—	1.0	2	1	1	0	2	0
1988-08-11	CHC	NYN	—	6.0	8	4	3	1	3	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Al Nipper — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	144	124	106	124	10	12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Al Nipper — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1983	BOS	P	3	2	1	2	0	0
1984	BOS	P	29	24	28	31	1	0
1985	BOS	P	25	25	24	28	5	4
1986	BOS	P	26	26	28	28	1	4
1987	BOS	P	30	30	20	27	2	2
1988	CHN	P	22	12	4	7	1	1
1990	CLE	P	9	5	1	1	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Al Nipper — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	144

Awards & Honors

Al Nipper — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-09-07

Salary History

Al Nipper — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1988	CHN	NL	$397,000
1986	BOS	AL	$265,000
1985	BOS	AL	$165,000
Total Career Earnings			$827,000

College History

Al Nipper — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Truman State University	Kirksville	MO	1978, 1979, 1980

Award Voting History

Al Nipper — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1984	Rookie of the Year	AL	7th	1.0	140	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Al Nipper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Al Nipper: the record in brief

Al Nipper's major league career runs from a debut on September 6, 1983 to a final game on July 16, 1990. Club by club, the record runs the Boston Red Sox (1983 to 1987), the Chicago Cubs (1988), and the Cleveland Indians (1990). Nipper played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 2, 1959, in San Diego, CA, USA and a listed size of 188 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. Nipper's full given name, per the bio, is Albert Samuel Nipper.

Nipper went 46-50 with a 4.52 ERA in 144 games, 124 of them starts. The totals include 381 strikeouts and 21 complete games. Against a 3.92 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.52 mark was 15.4% worse. The best win total was 11, in 1984. The strikeout high was 89 in 1987. In 1984, one of the busiest seasons, Nipper posted a 3.89 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.81.

Frequently Asked Questions about Al Nipper

What years did Al Nipper play?: Al Nipper played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1990.
Was Al Nipper a pitcher?: Yes. Al Nipper pitched in the major leagues, recording 46 wins and 381 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Al Nipper hit?: Al Nipper hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
What was Al Nipper's career batting average?: Al Nipper batted .087 over his career, with 2 hits in 23 at bats.
What was Al Nipper's career ERA?: Al Nipper finished with a 4.52 career ERA, going 46-50 with 381 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Al Nipper have?: Al Nipper recorded 381 career strikeouts.