A right-handed pitcher, Nipper played in the Major Leagues for seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians.

He was with the Red Sox from 1983 to 1987, and was a candidate for Rookie of the Year in 1984. He pitched against the Mets in the 1986 World Series.

Nipper was with the Cubs in 1988 and the Indians in 1990. In 1991, he pitched in the farm system of the St. Louis Cardinals.

After his playing days were over, Nipper became a major and minor league pitching coach and scout for the Boston Red Sox and several other MLB teams.

Born in San Diego, Nipper grew up in St. Louis where he pitched for Hazelwood West High School in the late 1970s. The Red Sox drafted him in 1980 when he was pitching for Northeast Missouri State University now called Truman State University.