Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES – Looks like the days of Joe Davis as the sole play-by-play man for the Dodgers are over. With Davis’s increased profile with the national broadcast of baseball, it was inevitable that the team would need to do something other than grabbing radio guy Tim Neverett every time Davis was away. And now that something has happened. On Friday, the team announced that local product Stephen Nelson will be Davis’s primary fill-in on the TV side.
Nelson, 33, is a Southern California native and graduated from Chapman University. He attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach and interned at both KTLA and Fox Sports West while in college. Nelson has since worked professionally for MLB Network, NHL Network, NBC Sports, YouTube and Apple-TV+ calling Major League Baseball and National Hockey League games.
In 2021, MLB Network tapped him to host its most popular show, “Intentional Talk,” alongside Kevin Millar. In addition to “IT,” Nelson has also hosted programs for the MLB and NHL networks, including MLB Tonight, MLB Now, Hot Stove, and NHL Tonight. Prior to joining MLB Network, he was a host and broadcaster for Bleacher Report. In 2023, Nelson will call more than 50 home and road contests for SportsNet LA alongside Joe Davis, Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra, Eric Karros, Jessica Mendoza, Tim Neverett, Dontrelle Willis in the ever-expanding roster of on-screen talent that has evolved in the wake of Vin Scully’s retirement.
“It’s impossible to convey the emotions that come with this opportunity,” said Nelson in a press release from the Dodgers. “This isn’t simply coming home. This isn’t simply being an announcer for a professional sports team. This is The Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s the best organization in baseball for so many reasons and I can’t wait to be a tiny part of it and its best-in-class production team. Growing up in Southern California, like so many Angelenos, I enjoyed a front-row seat to broadcast greatness with Vin, Jaime, Chick, Bob Miller and others. That tradition has continued with Joe Davis. To work with and learn from somebody that has become a friend in recent years is special. This is an honor and blessing that I’ll work tirelessly to earn.”
“We are thrilled to be adding such a dynamic personality in Stephen and think he will fit in seamlessly with our incredibly talented broadcast team,” said Lon Rosen, the Dodgers’ Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Nelson is a proud Japanese American and is set to become the only Asian American play-by-play announcer working for a Major League Baseball team. He will live in Los Angeles with his wife, Cori, who is a news anchor for NBC News and MSNBC, their son, Kai, and dog, Nash.
I like Stephen Nelson as a personality. I wasn’t that in love with his play-by-play work on AppleTV’s “Friday Night Baseball,” which paired him with analysts Hunter Pence and Katie Nolan. That broadcast always struck me as a “dumbed down” jokey broadcast for non-baseball fans, but I can write that off to the venue. AppleTV is a much different animal than SportsNetLA and I’m guessing we’ll see more of the real Nelson on this broadcast. The guy knows the game, and will be a great addition to the team.
