Robert Wayne Kipper (born July 8, 1964) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

coach and a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) pitcher. He has also spent two terms (all of the 2002 season, and part of the 2015 season) as bullpen coach of MLB's

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

.Boston Red Sox official web site
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Playing career

A native of Aurora, Illinois, Kipper, a left-hander, stood tall and weighed during his active career. After graduating from Aurora Central Catholic High School, he was selected by the California Angels with the eighth pick in the first round of the

1982 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

. He had signed to play baseball at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

before his selection. Kipper led the Class A California League in wins (18) and

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(2.04) as his league's "pitcher of the year" in 1984. He made his MLB debut with the

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in April at age 20, but was ineffective in two games pitched and was returned to the minor leagues. Kipper was sent from the Angels to the Pirates on August 16, 1985 to complete a trade from two weeks prior on August 2 that also had Pat Clements and Mike Brown coming to Pittsburgh for John Candelaria,

George Hendrick George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals ...

and

Al Holland Alfred Willis Holland (born August 16, 1952) is a former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, and New York Yankees ...

. He would pitch in 247 games for the Pirates over all or parts of seven seasons (1985–91)—initially as a starter, but then as a relief specialist—before finishing his MLB career for the Minnesota Twins in . In his eight-season MLB career, Kipper posted a 27–37 record with a 4.43 ERA and 11 saves in 271 appearances. He allowed 527 hits and 217 bases on balls, with 369 strikeouts, and 562 innings pitched.

Post-playing career

Following his playing retirement, Kipper has worked as a pitching coach in independent league baseball and in the minor leagues. He also spent a full season as major league bullpen coach of the 2002 Boston Red Sox. Thirteen years later, on August 16, 2015, he was named Boston's interim bullpen coach, part of a chain reaction of moves driven by manager John Farrell's medical leave of absence for treatment of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enla ...

. In Farrell's absence, bench coach

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American professional baseball manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB), appointed November 4, 2016. Lovullo served as the first base coach for the Toron ...

became acting manager and bullpen coach

Dana LeVangie Dana Alan LeVangie (born August 11, 1969) is an American professional baseball scout and coach, who was the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) in and . Formerly a scout and minor league catcher, as an active pla ...

became acting bench coach. A member of the Boston Red Sox organization since 1999, Kipper has coached for their

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

(1999),

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

(2000–01), Greenville Drive (2005–06; 2008–09; 2018–present),

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

(2007), Portland Sea Dogs (2003–04; 2010–14), and

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

(2015–17) affiliates, working with teams from

short-season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

leagues to Triple-A.

References

External links

, o
MLB
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Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kipper, Bob 1964 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Boston Red Sox coaches Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Angels players Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches Nashua Pirates players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Norfolk Tides players Peoria Suns players Pittsburgh Pirates players Redwood Pioneers players Salem Angels players Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois Vancouver Canadians players