Dodgers add Stephen Nelson to TV broadcast team

The Dodgers announced Friday morning that Stephen Nelson has been added to the SportsNet LA television broadcast team for 2023.

Nelson, 33, is a former MLB Network host and play-by-play broadcaster, and he will call more than 50 home and road games alongside Joe Davis, Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra, Eric Karros, Jessica Mendoza, Tim Neverett, Dontrelle Willis and the rest of the SNLA team.

“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.

Along with MLB Network, where he most recently hosted the network's popular "Intentional Talk" show with former MLB player Kevin Millar, Nelson called baseball games for Apple TV+ and YouTube TV, and he also called hockey games and hosted other programming for the NHL Network. Prior to that, he was a broadcaster for Bleacher Report.

The new role is a homecoming for Nelson, who grew up in Southern California and attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach. He also interned with local television station KTLA and FOX Sports West while attending Chapman University.

"It's impossible to convey the emotions that come with this opportunity,” Nelson said. “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 [Scully], Jaime [Jarrín], Chick [Hearn], 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."

Nelson is Japanese-American, and he will become the only Asian-American play-by-play broadcaster working for an MLB team.