From Beallsville to Seoul, South Korea.

That’s the path that Dustin Nippert’s professional baseball career has taken him.

After being released by the Texas Rangers following last season’s World Series, the 29-year-old righthander recently signed with the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization.

“I was looking to hook up with a couple of teams here in the states,” Nippert said Thursday afternoon. “I was also in contact with a couple of teams in Japan.”

However, when things didn’t work out on those fronts, he got in contact with the Bears.

“They made me a really good offer that I couldn’t refuse,” he continued. “It seemed like the best place for me right now.”

Another key to getting the deal done was the fact that Nippert has already been penciled into the Bears’ starting rotation.

“I’m going to be a starter again and that was really important to me,” he noted. According to the Doosan Bears website, Nippert will be the third starter behind Les Walrond and Kim Sun-Woo and ahead of Lee Hyun-Seung.

The KBO runs on the same time frame as Major League baseball, with opening day set for April 2 and the playoffs in October. Doosan has claimed three KBO championships, those coming in 1982, 1995 and 2001.

Nippert indicated he would be leaving for South Korea on Jan. 28. He will report to Doosan and then fly to Japan for spring training.

“It will definitely be a new experience for me and my family,” he added. “A good opportunity.”

He was quick to admit, however, that he doesn’t know any Korean.

“I’ve talked to a few people and they’ve told me it’s not an easy language to learn, but I’ve got a translator that will be with me most of the time.”

As far as the game goes, Nippert doesn’t really know what to expect.

“I’m open-minded. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to see what they’ve got to offer.”

Even though his MLB career has taken a slight detour, the Beallsville High School graduate went out on a high note.

After an up-and-down 2010 season which found him on the disabled list a couple of times, Nippert was on the Rangers’ first-round playoff series roster. However, after a shaky performance against Tampa Bay, he was left off the American League Championship Series roster. Following the Rangers victory over the New York Yankees, he was not activated for the World Series. But due to an injury suffered by a teammate, Nippert was called up for the final game of the series, which was won by San Francisco.

“That was a great experience,” he allowed. “Just getting to the World Series and being able to hang out with my teammates and take in everything. That was great, but other than that, I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Nippert was able to survive a scare last season when he was struck in the side of the head with a line drive in Detroit off the bat of Austin Jackson. After being down or several minutes, he got to his feet and walked off the field with a smile to a standing ovation from the Tigers’ faithful. He was taken to a Detroit area hospital for precautionary x-rays, but was back at the team’s hotel before the team was.

He was drafted in the 15th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2002 MLB Draft and made his debut on Sept. 8, 2005. He was traded to Texas on March 28, 2008, for Jose Marte.

For his career, Nippert was 14-16 with a 5.31 earned run average. He also recorded 214 strikeouts.

The Doosan Bears were founded in Daejeon, South Korea, in 1982 as the OB Bears, and moved to Seoul in 1985 where they became the Doosan Bears. They play their home games at renovated Jamsil Stadium.

In addition to Doosan, other teams comprising the KBO are the SK Wyverns, Kia Tigers, Lotte Giants, Samsung Lions, LG Twins, Nexen Heroes and Hanwha Eagles.

The KBO is the governing body for professional leagues of baseball in South Korea, and should not be confused with the Korea Professional Baseball League.

IN keeping with the baseball theme, despite the frigid temperatures and ankle-deep snow, the recruiting battle is heating up in the Ohio Valley Baseball League.

According to reports filtering around Eastern Ohio, Maynard has landed former John Marshall and WVU standout Jarod Rine. The rumor mill also has one of Rine’s former teammate – Matt Amedro – possibly joining the Reds’ starting rotation.

Rival Barton, the two-time defending titlists, hasn’t been sitting back doing nothing. Reports have the Braves talking to a pair of former OVAC pitching greats in Bellaire’s Levi Crozier and Martins Ferry’s Fred Owens. Crozier is currently attending Kent State University while mulling over a possible diamond career, while Owens is reported to be a member of the Muskingum University squad.

I can’t wait for a spring thaw and some action.

North can be reached at knorth@timesleaderon-line.com