Justin Abramson, known in his prime simply as the Towel, is a 2008 graduate of Grinnell College living in Arlington, Virginia. Referred to by many Grinnellians as the voice of Pioneer athletics, Justin was the play-by-play announcer for Grinnell’s basketball teams, the color analyst for the football team and the stadium announcer for the baseball and softball teams during his college days. A first baseman for most of his baseball career, he also played one season as a second baseman and one as a designated hitter. Though he retired from baseball at the conclusion of the 2005 season and his abilities on the field pale in comparison to those of The Golden Sombrero’s other contributors, he still has a great passion for the game. In 2007, his first year of fantasy baseball, Justin shocked Grinnell’s fantasy baseball community by winning the championship (they’re not booing, they’re yelling “fluuuuuuuke”) in a twenty-team league after such blunders as drafting Troy Glaus in the top fifty and taking Jason Kendall when Russell Martin was available. He is a die-hard Rockies fan and although he attended both of the World Series games played at Coors Field, he hopes they do not turn out to be the only ones. He was also at Nationals Park on June 4, 2009 to witness Randy Johnson’s 300th win. Justin currently works as an analyst on the marketing strategy team at the Advisory Board Company, a healthcare research firm based in Washington, DC. He pitches for the company’s softball team, The Big Units, which has won the league championship three seasons running. Though his tally currently stands at just six, Justin hopes to one day visit all thirty major league ballparks.
Justin can be reached at abramson.justin@gmail.com
Justin Abramson
Four Games, Four Ballparks, Four Cities, Four Days: A Baseball Fan’s Dream Vacation
A few months ago, someone I barely knew asked me what I want to do before I die. As common a question as that may be, it was one I’d never been asked before. So naturally, as I often do in situations where I don’t know what to say, I blurted out the first answer [...]
Voices of the Game: A tribute to baseball’s greatest broadcasters (Part I)
As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am a die-hard fan of the Colorado Rockies. And at times, being a fan of a team in the NL West is tough. After all, I live in DC, so most Rockies home games don’t start until around 9PM. And when they’re on the road, sometimes [...]
National Holiday: Strasburg Dazzles in Washington Debut
It’s official. Baseball is back in the nation’s capital. A casual fan might point out that no, baseball actually returned to Washington in April of 2005, when the Nationals played their first game in DC after 36 years as the Montreal Expos. Others might say that it came on March 30, 2008, when they played their [...]
Blown call a terrible moment for baseball, but instant replay NOT the path to perfection
As even the most casual of baseball fans know by now, Armando Galarraga retired 26 consecutive batters to open a game against the Indians on Wednesday, but failed to complete a perfect game as first-base umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly ruled that Cleveland’s Jason Donald beat out an infield single with two outs in the ninth. [...]
In Mile-High City, it’s all about the U: Rockies’ Jimenez poised to become franchise’s first twenty-game winner
June 1, 2010 “With the one hundred fourth pick of the 2010 Denslow Cup Draft, the Capital City Corporate Towls select Ubaldo Jimenez, Starting Pitcher, Colorado Rockies.” These words (which would have been uttered by Denslow Cup commissioner Robbie Unsell had we done an in-person draft but were instead simply printed on a screen) have [...]
All Eyes on Grinnell: Pioneers from across the globe reunited through Midwest Conference baseball
May 22, 2010 Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the 2010 Midwest Conference Baseball Tournament and calling the action for Midwest Conference Television all tournament long. The whole weekend was one of the best times I’ve had since I graduated from Grinnell two years and three days ago. And while it was great to [...]
Perfect Ten: Pioneer baseball team clinches division title, to host Midwest Conference Tournament for first time since 2000
May 4, 2010 Much to the delight (and to some, the disbelief) of the Grinnell College baseball community, it became official late Saturday afternoon: the Pioneers are a perfect 10-0 in Midwest Conference play and South Division champions for just the second time ever. They’ll be hosting the Midwest Conference Tournament beginning on Friday, May 14, [...]
Why Didn't They Just Walk Casey? The use of the intentional walk in Major League Baseball
April 14, 2010 Saturday night, in the bottom of the 14th inning with the Padres up one run on the Rockies, manager Bud Black had a decision to make. There were two outs and the tying run was on second. Ian Stewart was at the plate and Chris Iannetta was on deck. Black decided to walk [...]
Justin Abramson's 2010 Predictions
April 6, 2010 AL East: Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays AL Central: Twins, Sox, Tigers, Indians, Royals AL West: Angels, Rangers, Mariners, A’s AL Wildcard: Rays NL East: Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Mets, Nationals NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Astros, Reds, Pirates NL West: Rockies, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Padres NL Wildcard: Braves ALCS: Rays def. Yankees NLCS: Rockies def. Phillies World Series: Rays def. Rockies AL [...]
Are We There Yet? Troubled Franchice Finally Has Help On The Way: A Washington Nationals Season Preview
April 3, 2010 Baseball here in the nation’s capital has been rather difficult to watch at times. Since I arrived in the District of Columbia on June 5, 2008, the woebegone Nationals have compiled a record of 93-169, good for an anemic .355 winning percentage. To put that in perspective, No team has posted a poorer [...]
Patience is for Suckers: The Case for Swinging First-ball, Fastball
April 1, 2010 Many coaches teach that the best way to approach hitting is to work the count against a pitcher. After all, the more pitches a pitcher must throw, the better chance a hitter has to time his delivery, get a sense for his stronger and weaker pitches and learn what he might throw in [...]
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