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COVID Curveball: An Inside View of the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers World Championship Season
A riveting inside account of the most unforgettable season in Los Angeles Dodgers history, from the COVID-delayed start through the incredible playoff run, by the broadcaster who saw it all.As America’s Pastime reeled from a global pandemic, the LA Dodgers rallied to win arguably the most difficult baseball season ever played. Amid strict new rules and Coronavirus outbreaks on other teams that wreaked havoc on the schedule, the Dodgers maintained a laser focus as a team and organization, and ultimately, won the first bubbled playoffs in the history of Major League Baseball. In COVID Curveball, author and Dodgers’ broadcaster Tim Neverett takes us through this unprecedented season, offering exclusive access and firsthand, edge-of-your-seat, play-by-play coverage of the surreal days and weeks that led up to the dramatic championship climax. It’s a highly entertaining, often humorous chronicle of the quirky nature of the season, the goings-on behind the scenes at the stadium and MLB at large, as well as the unique chemistry forged in the diverse and dynamic clubhouse. Along with insights into the potent lineup that produced jaw-dropping moments by Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger, the book also celebrates the incredible achievements of Clayton Kershaw that cemented his Hall-of-Fame legacy, and the remarkable job done by Dave Roberts and the Dodgers’ executives and ownership. Highlighted by empty stands, remote broadcasts, and relentless testing, 2020 was perhaps the strangest baseball season ever…but it produced the most savored World Series celebration in the history of the game. Includes an in-depth foreword by Dodgers’ legend Orel Hershiser.
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Published August 31, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 14, 2021
Living through this season in COVID lockdown living in what is now officially 'the most locked down city in the world,' I had nothing but time to follow every update, watch almost every pitch of this incredible season.
So much fun being taken back through the ups and (generally speaking, blown out of proportion) downs of the 2020 Dodgers.
Would have loved to be a fly on the wall and listen as the Author and others talked shop at Mo's Bar and Grill.
So much fun being taken back through the ups and (generally speaking, blown out of proportion) downs of the 2020 Dodgers.
Would have loved to be a fly on the wall and listen as the Author and others talked shop at Mo's Bar and Grill.
May 17, 2022
A great trip down memory lane, albeit a bit of a dry game-by-game look. I would have liked more insight into the locker room and personalities, but social distancing obviously made that impossible. If you followed the team as a fan, you won’t learn much. The best parts were really the discussion of what covid did to everyone, with baseball as a microcosm.
May 11, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: I GUESS HE DIDN’T LIKE MY CURVEBALL OR SOMETHING (JOE KELLY)
***************************************************************************
As a born in Brooklyn… Ebbets Field attending… member of a Brooklyn Dodger loving family… who moved at the exact same time as *OUR BELOVED BUMS* to Los Angeles… it’s been quite disappointing as to the lack of books (I don’t include bound books of sports section articles from newspapers) released regarding the Dodgers 2020 World Championship season… a season that was not only the strangest… but the most precarious in terms of the frailty of the entire human race. And now there is this absolutely unique… in not only the presentation style… but… the perspective of the author Tim Neverett.
Neverett was about to start his second season as a type of “utility-announcer” for the Dodgers. Previously he had a “starting role” as an announcer for the Red Sox and Pirates… along with Olympic announcing jobs to his credit along with other miscellaneous jobs as he gained experience and added to his credentials. Being that he was not the lead announcer… nor the color man assistant… nor the main pre-game or post-game… person… when covid hit… and almost everyone was worried about their job almost as much as their health… Tim found himself in the exact same circumstance. He… and only his wife knew… “I kept my daily chronicles a secret from the Dodgers and everyone else I worked with through the entire season so that no one would offer or withhold information and people could operate around me without having to think that I was writing a book. I didn’t want anyone to act or do anything differently than they normally would.”
What is so great about this for the reader… is that you feel yourself becoming very close to Tim because he shares his fear and his unknown of this horrible killing disease. He sheds all false bravado and emanates how glad he is to have some type of job even if his pay and activity is diminished. His fear each time he gets his constant covid tests as demanded by his job… he sweats the results exactly like all us every day human beings. His entire life… is upended and changed just like ours. He is not treated like a pampered multi-million dollar spoiled ballplayer. And he gives us the results of all sixty regular season games… and the entire playoffs and World Series… along with trepidations during multiple spring trainings.
The book starts out with a totally lackluster foreword by Orel Hershiser… then Tim does something that was surprising to me… unique… and with hindsight… brilliant. In just about every book I’ve read they have a little blurb in the back of the book “about the author”… and this book does too. But what Tim did right after the forward is have a chapter entitled… “WHO AM I AND WHY AM I WRITING THIS THING?” Now… as I mentioned at the beginning of this book… I was a born and raised Dodger fan and have rooted for them for over sixty-five years. I no longer live in L.A. and I never heard of this guy! So he introduces himself to me… knowing many Dodger fans have no idea who he is. And he introduces himself in a way… that is not bragging about “Hey look at me… I’m a big shot… he’s telling you about his love for the game… and the price he’s paid to be in this position… and to have this opportunity.” You actually start to like him… and feel comfortable… in taking this almost “secret-journey” with him. That’s in addition to relating how he is changing his whole life… and fears… just like you and me… when walking down the street near other people.
He uses some great analogies… and some lousy ones… especially regarding the “new-normal”. I got a real kick out of his reference to the empty stands… and the cutout cardboard fans when he wrote…. “I looked down on the solid white backing of the cardboard fan cutouts that arrive early and stay late.” Being that I have been a walking-talking-breathing-human-baseball-stat-master… I also liked the way the author would point out any baseball record or oddity that either came about… or was challenged in his game by game analysis. Such as when Mookie had two home-runs and two stolen bases in the same game… THE ONLY DODGER IN HISTORY TO DO THAT. Another possibility (which I have known for over fifty years.) is the fact that the late-great-Frank-Robinson is the only player in Major League history to win the MVP in both leagues. Excellent stats abound regarding Kershaw’s trek through history.
BUT… THE MOST UNFORGIVING HISTORICAL MISTAKE BY THE AUTHOR… WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGIVE… (And what quality people do these writers and publishers hire to proof read and edit these books??? I run into these rampant mistakes in almost every book I read??!!) On page 128 in discussing Spanish broadcaster Jaime Jarrin… he says “Jarrin has been broadcasting Dodger games since the team arrived in LA for the 1959 season…” THIS IS DODGER BLUE BLASPHEMY!! MY BELOVED BUMS PLAYED THEIR FIRST YEAR IN LOS ANGELES IN 1958!! I KNOW I CAME WITH THEM AND WAS THERE AT THE LA COLISEUM! There are a few other typos in the book… but it is still a wonderful book… with a real friendly feel to it. In fact one of my favorite parts wasn’t really baseball oriented. It was Tim telling of hiking in the mountains in Northern New Hampshire while wondering if and when the baseball season would even start… and he got caught in a horrendous rain… wind… cold… hail storm!
Perhaps my favorite baseball parts… of many… was about the man that now lives in me and my son’s lifetime Dodger Hall of Hero’s… **JOE-FIGHT-CLUB-KELLY*. The incidents with him and the despicable-disgrace-to-all-sports-not-just-baseball… the CHEATING Astr*s… is legendary. Not just what Joe did on the field… but his honest diatribe word for word on talk radio is for the ages!!! We love you Joe… and always will!
Even with the few warts noted above… this is a wonderful book!
***************************************************************************
As a born in Brooklyn… Ebbets Field attending… member of a Brooklyn Dodger loving family… who moved at the exact same time as *OUR BELOVED BUMS* to Los Angeles… it’s been quite disappointing as to the lack of books (I don’t include bound books of sports section articles from newspapers) released regarding the Dodgers 2020 World Championship season… a season that was not only the strangest… but the most precarious in terms of the frailty of the entire human race. And now there is this absolutely unique… in not only the presentation style… but… the perspective of the author Tim Neverett.
Neverett was about to start his second season as a type of “utility-announcer” for the Dodgers. Previously he had a “starting role” as an announcer for the Red Sox and Pirates… along with Olympic announcing jobs to his credit along with other miscellaneous jobs as he gained experience and added to his credentials. Being that he was not the lead announcer… nor the color man assistant… nor the main pre-game or post-game… person… when covid hit… and almost everyone was worried about their job almost as much as their health… Tim found himself in the exact same circumstance. He… and only his wife knew… “I kept my daily chronicles a secret from the Dodgers and everyone else I worked with through the entire season so that no one would offer or withhold information and people could operate around me without having to think that I was writing a book. I didn’t want anyone to act or do anything differently than they normally would.”
What is so great about this for the reader… is that you feel yourself becoming very close to Tim because he shares his fear and his unknown of this horrible killing disease. He sheds all false bravado and emanates how glad he is to have some type of job even if his pay and activity is diminished. His fear each time he gets his constant covid tests as demanded by his job… he sweats the results exactly like all us every day human beings. His entire life… is upended and changed just like ours. He is not treated like a pampered multi-million dollar spoiled ballplayer. And he gives us the results of all sixty regular season games… and the entire playoffs and World Series… along with trepidations during multiple spring trainings.
The book starts out with a totally lackluster foreword by Orel Hershiser… then Tim does something that was surprising to me… unique… and with hindsight… brilliant. In just about every book I’ve read they have a little blurb in the back of the book “about the author”… and this book does too. But what Tim did right after the forward is have a chapter entitled… “WHO AM I AND WHY AM I WRITING THIS THING?” Now… as I mentioned at the beginning of this book… I was a born and raised Dodger fan and have rooted for them for over sixty-five years. I no longer live in L.A. and I never heard of this guy! So he introduces himself to me… knowing many Dodger fans have no idea who he is. And he introduces himself in a way… that is not bragging about “Hey look at me… I’m a big shot… he’s telling you about his love for the game… and the price he’s paid to be in this position… and to have this opportunity.” You actually start to like him… and feel comfortable… in taking this almost “secret-journey” with him. That’s in addition to relating how he is changing his whole life… and fears… just like you and me… when walking down the street near other people.
He uses some great analogies… and some lousy ones… especially regarding the “new-normal”. I got a real kick out of his reference to the empty stands… and the cutout cardboard fans when he wrote…. “I looked down on the solid white backing of the cardboard fan cutouts that arrive early and stay late.” Being that I have been a walking-talking-breathing-human-baseball-stat-master… I also liked the way the author would point out any baseball record or oddity that either came about… or was challenged in his game by game analysis. Such as when Mookie had two home-runs and two stolen bases in the same game… THE ONLY DODGER IN HISTORY TO DO THAT. Another possibility (which I have known for over fifty years.) is the fact that the late-great-Frank-Robinson is the only player in Major League history to win the MVP in both leagues. Excellent stats abound regarding Kershaw’s trek through history.
BUT… THE MOST UNFORGIVING HISTORICAL MISTAKE BY THE AUTHOR… WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGIVE… (And what quality people do these writers and publishers hire to proof read and edit these books??? I run into these rampant mistakes in almost every book I read??!!) On page 128 in discussing Spanish broadcaster Jaime Jarrin… he says “Jarrin has been broadcasting Dodger games since the team arrived in LA for the 1959 season…” THIS IS DODGER BLUE BLASPHEMY!! MY BELOVED BUMS PLAYED THEIR FIRST YEAR IN LOS ANGELES IN 1958!! I KNOW I CAME WITH THEM AND WAS THERE AT THE LA COLISEUM! There are a few other typos in the book… but it is still a wonderful book… with a real friendly feel to it. In fact one of my favorite parts wasn’t really baseball oriented. It was Tim telling of hiking in the mountains in Northern New Hampshire while wondering if and when the baseball season would even start… and he got caught in a horrendous rain… wind… cold… hail storm!
Perhaps my favorite baseball parts… of many… was about the man that now lives in me and my son’s lifetime Dodger Hall of Hero’s… **JOE-FIGHT-CLUB-KELLY*. The incidents with him and the despicable-disgrace-to-all-sports-not-just-baseball… the CHEATING Astr*s… is legendary. Not just what Joe did on the field… but his honest diatribe word for word on talk radio is for the ages!!! We love you Joe… and always will!
Even with the few warts noted above… this is a wonderful book!
September 15, 2021
The most difficult and shortest season in Major League Baseball history is chronicled by Dodger broadcaster Tim Neverett. The book reads as Neverett’s daily diary from the start of Spring Training, that was quickly cancelled due to the pandemic, through the restart in midsummer all the way to the end of the Bubble World Series in Arlington.
Neverett provides good insight in his recap of the season covering the hardships that not only the players had to endure but also the support staff including broadcasters. Fellow Dodger broadcaster Rick Monday’s temporary home in the Dodger parking lot is one of those great details. From regularly testing, to social distancing, to isolation to broadcasting games remotely the book captures it all. Neverett had a front row from his suite in Dodger Stadium.
In great, lively detail he recounts the entirety of the 60-game season from each Dodger win, and there were a lot of them (43), to what was going on with the rest of the league. He gives weight to the remarkable achievement that the Dodgers were able to avoid the virus for the season while other teams like the Cardinals and Marlins were devastated scrambling to find players to fill out their rosters and play as many games as possible.
The Dodgers run through the post season gets a little less detail as Neverett did not get to cover the team after the 60-gam sprint. But he continues his diary as the Dodgers beat up the Brewers and the Padres and miraculously came back against the Braves.
The detail about the World Series covers the highs of Kershaw’s two victories to the fluky, two-error, comeback off the bat of Brett Phillips of the Rays. To the crowning achievement of Julio Urias dominating the final innings of the World Series Clincher.
A great read for any Dodger fan with a fun introduction to the book from the Bulldog Orel Hershiser. It was a great season for Dodgers fans but hopefully one we never have to go through again.
Neverett provides good insight in his recap of the season covering the hardships that not only the players had to endure but also the support staff including broadcasters. Fellow Dodger broadcaster Rick Monday’s temporary home in the Dodger parking lot is one of those great details. From regularly testing, to social distancing, to isolation to broadcasting games remotely the book captures it all. Neverett had a front row from his suite in Dodger Stadium.
In great, lively detail he recounts the entirety of the 60-game season from each Dodger win, and there were a lot of them (43), to what was going on with the rest of the league. He gives weight to the remarkable achievement that the Dodgers were able to avoid the virus for the season while other teams like the Cardinals and Marlins were devastated scrambling to find players to fill out their rosters and play as many games as possible.
The Dodgers run through the post season gets a little less detail as Neverett did not get to cover the team after the 60-gam sprint. But he continues his diary as the Dodgers beat up the Brewers and the Padres and miraculously came back against the Braves.
The detail about the World Series covers the highs of Kershaw’s two victories to the fluky, two-error, comeback off the bat of Brett Phillips of the Rays. To the crowning achievement of Julio Urias dominating the final innings of the World Series Clincher.
A great read for any Dodger fan with a fun introduction to the book from the Bulldog Orel Hershiser. It was a great season for Dodgers fans but hopefully one we never have to go through again.
January 15, 2022
The 2020 MLB season was one of the strangest in the long history of the sport, what with it being shrunk to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the restrictions that placed upon it. In this book, author Tim Neverett (a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers' broadcast team) essentially pulls together his game-by-game notes of that campaign, both on the field (LA winning the World Series) and off it (testing, quarantines, playoff bubbles, etc.).
If you are a fan of the Dodgers more specifically than I, you will almost certainly rate this higher, as you'll likely have more nostalgia for that '20 season. It's not that Neverett's coverage is bad, per se, but just quite dry when it comes to the game recaps (more casual fans will be less interested in who scored whom each night).
The main reason I gave "COVID Curveball" a rather low rating, however, is because it reads exactly how I described it earlier--a collection of game/daily notes--as opposed to anything with depth or overall narrative. I wanted more reflection about the effect COVID was having on the Dodgers, but the material here is pretty surface-level. I'll also admit that reading this while the pandemic is still ongoing is a bit difficult (not enough time having been put between it and "normal baseball"). Also, whenever there are moments for editorializing, I found Neverett to be so slanted towards the Boys in Blue that I didn't find the opinions all that thought-provoking.
Overall, I think "COVID Curveball" is a great book for the devoted Dodgers fan wanting to relive that wild and special 2020 season. For anyone else? Maybe not quite as compelling. My exact rating would be 2.5 stars, but I have to round down for the often rote sense in which the short chapters are presented.
If you are a fan of the Dodgers more specifically than I, you will almost certainly rate this higher, as you'll likely have more nostalgia for that '20 season. It's not that Neverett's coverage is bad, per se, but just quite dry when it comes to the game recaps (more casual fans will be less interested in who scored whom each night).
The main reason I gave "COVID Curveball" a rather low rating, however, is because it reads exactly how I described it earlier--a collection of game/daily notes--as opposed to anything with depth or overall narrative. I wanted more reflection about the effect COVID was having on the Dodgers, but the material here is pretty surface-level. I'll also admit that reading this while the pandemic is still ongoing is a bit difficult (not enough time having been put between it and "normal baseball"). Also, whenever there are moments for editorializing, I found Neverett to be so slanted towards the Boys in Blue that I didn't find the opinions all that thought-provoking.
Overall, I think "COVID Curveball" is a great book for the devoted Dodgers fan wanting to relive that wild and special 2020 season. For anyone else? Maybe not quite as compelling. My exact rating would be 2.5 stars, but I have to round down for the often rote sense in which the short chapters are presented.
February 19, 2022
A look back on the Los Angeles Dodgers 2020 season in which they won the World Series in a crazy, abnormal year due to COVID-19 pandemic. Announcer Tim Neverett takes the reader through the season and how the Dodgers were able to play well despite the virus around them and despite playing in stadiums with no crowds. Not too detailed as far as getting to know the players, but a game by game review of the season. Was fun to go down memory lane and hear stories about Kershaw, Bellinger, Betts, Buehler, Muncy, Turner, Jansen, Smith, Seager, Pollock, Pederson, Hernandez, Barnes, Urias, May, Trenian, Taylor, Gonsolin, etc. Do wish the playoffs were a little more detailed but the writer wasn't calling those games as opposed to many of the regular season games. Dodger fans will love.
April 22, 2025
This was a wonderful read inside the Covid year of the World Series Champions Los Angeles Dodgers. I lived the games in the book as a Dodgers fan, but the book brought back all the memories and emotions of that trying Championship year. I loved how the book was written day by day. It was interesting to read what an announcer was going through as we were witnessing history throughout the season. This book is a must read for all baseball fans especially those who Bleed Blue.
March 29, 2025
Written pretty badly. There was way too much focus placed on the author & his experience with little insight into how MLB and the Dodgers adapted to the pandemic or how the team strategized for the season. The magical 2020 Dodgers' season deserves a better telling than this. The book is awfully disappointing.
September 1, 2023
Covid changed everything, including sports and baseball. In “Covid Curveball” author Tim Neverett recounts the 2020 season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, which lead to a World Series victory. Using a diary style, Neverett recounts day by day the progress of the Sodgers during the shortened season. Not being a Dodgers fan, the bulk of the game to game recount was not overly interesting, but admittedly would be more meaningful to a hardened fan. More collaboration with stakeholders would have made for an more interesting, albeit less personalized recounting. Notwithstanding, “Covid Curveball” is worth the time.
December 7, 2021
Many misspellings throughout. Was expecting more insights to the team and clubhouse culture, but it only spoke of the author’s account during the 2020 season.
January 1, 2022
Good book to read. Love the behind the scene look into the life of a baseball guy.
January 11, 2023
Loved the inside information about what was going on during these uncertain times. Will probably reread it every few years.
March 16, 2023
It was so much fun to relive this winning season! Let's do it again this year!
September 25, 2022
Veteran sports broadcaster Tim Neverett recounts the story of the Dodgers' 2020 World Series championship, a feat notable for the many COVID-19 roadblocks the team/organization had to overcome, many not noted by fans or non-fans. One example will suffice: players were tested every 48 hours, and a positive test resulted in a 14 day suspension. A bit dry, especially the corona virus statistics sprinkled throughout.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews