Neverett ’88 Brings Lessons from Dodgers Booth to Emerson Classroom
As a veteran MLB play-by-play announcer and a current voice of the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Tim Neverett ’88 brings his real-world experience to Emerson classrooms, helping students master the art of storytelling and preparation.
“Baseball is the perfect storytelling sport,” said Neverett. “Your job as a broadcaster is to tell the story of that game — who’s playing, what’s happening, and why it matters — all in real time. You have to know when to add color, when to pause, and how to make people feel like they’re there.”
As a Communication Studies affiliated faculty member based in Los Angeles, these are lessons Neverett impresses upon his students. Particularly when to tell stories and how long he can spend on each story.
“Sometimes it’s paragraphs and other times it’s bullet points because you only have so much time,” said Neverett. “If a player doesn’t swing at a pitch, maybe you have some time to get something in, or when a player comes in from the bullpen.”
Listeners hear the stories during games, but Neverett’s preparation work begins hours before the opening pitch, well before fans are in the ballpark. That’s when he’s talking to players, team personnel, opposing team announcers. He’s gathering info, like, say, if a player was an all-state quarterback, or another detail that could interest a listener.
From the Beginning
As a Boston Red Sox fan growing up in New Hampshire, Neverett was excited that his Emerson dorm was mere minutes from Fenway Park. He played baseball all four years, captaining the Lions while manning the outfield and second base.
He often attended Sox games because tickets were cheap back in 1980s – so cheap that he attended several playoff games in the fateful 1986 World Series, which didn’t turn out great for Sox fans.
“Those were some of the best years of my life — I’m still in close contact with my teammates,” said Neverett.
It was also where he found his voice — literally. He worked at WECB, serving as sports director and helping launch the first-ever live Emerson basketball broadcast in 1985 with Erik Sherman ’88.
“We got a 100-foot cord, strung the cord from the athletic director’s office, and broadcasted the rest of the home games that season,” said Neverett.
Neverett also convinced former Boston Bruins player Terry O’Reilly to come WECB’s station on Beacon Street on a Sunday night and talk for an hour on-air. That gave him the confidence to apply for press credentials for Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins games.
“I realized I could carry sports in a big market. It helped me understand the business, and got me into the sports in market,” said Neverett. “Emerson prepared me for the whole thing.”
Neverett’s career has taken him from calling minor league games to the broadcast booths of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, and now the Dodgers. He’s earned three World Series rings (two with the Dodgers and one with the Red Sox), and wrote a book about the Dodgers’ 2020 championship season called COVID Curveball.
An Emerson College Heart of a Lion Award winner, he is in his seventh season handling play-by-play games on AM 570, and occasionally anchoring pre-game and post-game shows on SportsNet LA. He’s on standby to call this year’s World Series for Dodgers radio.
He’s also called once-in-a-lifetime moments like Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented 50-50 milestone. Not only did Ohtani become first-ever player to 50 homeruns and steal 50 bases in a season (securing that feat in the same game), but he also batted 6-for-6, hitting three homeruns along with stealing two bases.
“That was probably the biggest moment I’ve ever called,” he said. “Someone wins the World Series every year, but no one had ever done that before.”
Neverett says during those grand moments, he recalls lessons learned at Emerson.
“When I was with the Red Sox in 2018, I remember taking it all in [during the first game of the World Series], and reminded myself to do what I did that got me in that seat. You can’t change the way you broadcast,” said Neverett.
Teaching the Next Generation of Sports Storytellers
Now, Neverett brings those experiences directly into the classroom. In his Advanced Topics in Sports Communication and Advanced Sports Media courses (that he teaches online due to traveling for the Dodgers), students explore everything from salary caps to labor negotiations to crisis management and ethics — all through the lens of real, unfolding stories.
“The sports world writes the curriculum for you,” he said. That could mean a new collective bargaining agreement, a gambling scandal, or a player suspension.
He also focuses on agency work, representation, and the rapidly changing business side of sports. Guest speakers have included top agents, veteran athletes, and executives from across professional leagues.
“[Students learn] from people currently doing it. To learn about the highest level, you need to learn from the people at the highest level,” said Neverett.
Even with his major league schedule, Neverett remains deeply connected to Emerson. He relishes teaching, visits campus when he can, and helps students find internships and jobs across the sports industry. He emphasizes to students that to work in sports you’ve got to be ready for the grind – working nights, weekends, holidays – and make yourself indispensable.
“The Emerson Mafia is real,” he said. “When you’re in a position to hire or mentor, you help an Emersonian. That network never stops.”
And from growing up a young Sox fan in New Hampshire, to Emerson, to the broadcast booths in Pittsburgh, Boston, and Los Angeles, Neverett says his love for the game hasn’t faded.
“One of my favorite times is before the gates open — before the music, when it’s quiet and you can hear the sound of the ball hitting the glove,” he said. “That’s when you remember why you do it.”
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