When Joey Grabanski strides to the plate, all eyes fixate on the exchange between pitcher and batter. It doesn’t matter if it’s hour one or hour six of a long conference doubleheader. You pay attention as the 6-foot, well-built right-hander steps into the box. You don’t want to miss this. Joey bends slightly at the knees while gripping the bat and leaning it gently against his right shoulder. As the pitch nears the plate, Joey kicks his left leg and unleashes a violent but controlled attack on the baseball.
This is Concordia’s right-handed version of Babe Ruth, someone who will be remembered long after he takes his final hacks in navy blue. Joey’s own teammates marvel at his exploits and gargantuan blasts.
Following Joey’s third separate three-homer game of the 2023 season, even Head Coach Ryan Dupic struggled to explain what was happening. This just isn’t normal. Stated Dupic in late March of 2023, “I really am running out of ways to put words into what Joey’s done offensively. I don’t know what else you can say about him. He’s clearly one of the best hitters in the country.”
The term “gym rat” is applied to those who just can’t get enough time on the basketball court. That’s exactly who Joey is when it comes to his craft. His passion for destroying baseballs knows no bounds, even for someone who grew up in North Dakota, where the spring and summer are bombarded by seemingly endless winters. As Joey arrived in Seward in the fall of 2020, he started hitting – and he’s never stopped. With a full college season left to play, Joey has clobbered a school record 62 home runs, putting him 15 shy of becoming the NAIA’s all-time sultan of swat.
A 2023 NAIA Second Team All-American and 2024 NAIA preseason All-America selection, Grabanski won’t be flying under the radar. He enters this spring as one of the most accomplished and most feared hitters in all of the NAIA. In 170 college games, Grabanski has recorded staggering numbers: a .378 batting average (230-for-609), 168 runs scored, 40 doubles, 212 RBIs and 456 total bases, in addition to the 62 home runs.
Says Grabanski, “Coming in, I didn’t really expect a whole lot. I just wanted to work as hard as I could and try and play baseball as much as possible. I came in and worked hard. Everyone from years prior helped create what we have now. The older guys helped with the process of getting better every day and being together as a family.”
One of those older guys when Grabanski first entered the program was catcher Ben Berg, now the lead assistant on Coach Dupic’s staff. A First Team All-GPAC honoree in his own right, Berg knows talent when he sees it – and he’s seen plenty of it in his teammates at Concordia. Before Grabanski ever played a game at Concordia, he was already turning heads. In discussing the new hitting coach at the time, Caleb Lang, Dupic expressed confidence in Grabanski leading up to Joey’s freshman season of 2021. Said Dupic then, “You can really see the development with guys like Joey.”
Recalled Berg of his first impression, “When Joey walked onto campus it was my third year here. I played with some pretty special players here before that. When Joey stepped onto the scene it was really impressive in terms of the way he swung the bat and the exit velocity numbers he was putting up. You look at him and he may not be the most athletic specimen you’ve ever seen, but the first time he started hitting on the field, you turned your head and watched because he did some really special things with the bat from the day he stepped on campus.”
Former assistant coach Conner Watson was the first member of the Bulldog staff to spot and then reach out to Grabanski in the recruiting process. Watson saw Grabanski at a showcase in Omaha and felt compelled to hit Joey up.
“The first text message I got was, ‘Hey, this is Coach Wats from Concordia,’” Grabanski said. “My first instinct was, ‘Which Concordia?’ I grew up about an hour away from a Concordia, and I thought maybe that’s what it was. He said Nebraska. I was always looking for something farther away from home. I wanted to travel. When I came here on a visit, the first night I looked at the campus and thought it was a pretty cool place already. It was lit up out front of Weller. After my visit, everybody here made me feel like I was already involved with the team – Coach Dupic and all the players.”
The sight of Joey slugging away at the plate was one to behold both then and now. Part of what makes Joey great at what he does is his passion and love for the game. It’s not unusual to see a wide grin come over his face after he’s pummeled a home run or laced the ball into the gap. He endears himself to teammates and observes alike with his patented belly rub that follows each double. He’s a gentle giant but also a fiery competitor.
A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Joey estimates that he hit only about 15 home runs during the entirety of his high school career. However, the actual high school seasons were often extremely abbreviated due to the weather. Joey made up for it by playing legion ball extensively throughout his adolescent summers. Baseball-filled summers are still part of the deal for Joey, who would love nothing more than to play baseball (and go bowling) all day long.
Dupic gushed about the love for the game displayed by both Joey and fellow All-American Jaidan Quinn. Said Dupic, “Joey is out playing summer baseball all over the place because he just loves to play the game. There’s a real strong passion for them in terms of the joy they get out of playing baseball. They certainly love to hit and love to train.”
As for the passion for bowling, Joey picked that up from his father, who owns a perfect 300 to his credit. Following in his footsteps, Joey holds one “sanctioned” 300 that came in a league event. There was a time when Joey hoped to find a college that would offer the opportunity to bowl and play baseball. In his current situation, Joey has settled for tearing up the lanes at the local Seward Bowl. To some people in the Seward community, Joey might actually be known more for his bowling prowess than for his ability to smash the long ball. The sport has bonded him with the locals.
“I try to bowl once a week if possible,” Grabanski said. “If I can get in once every two weeks, I feel like it’s just a good reset – something away from baseball that’s not school-related. It’s nice to get myself disassociated. It’s something I grew up doing. I watched my dad when I was younger.
“I joined a league my freshman year here (in Seward). I made quite a few friends over there. They’re kind of older. They all appreciate me, and I appreciate them for welcoming me in and letting me in.”
The bowling pursuits have not detracted from Grabanski’s continued development as a hitter or as a quality defensive player in either left field or at first base. Somehow, he also finds time to meet the demands of his Recreation and Sport Studies academic coursework and to work at the Seward Domino’s. Joey always delivers.
Jokes aside, Joey takes his approach to each at bat seriously. He’s possessed that signature raw power for quite some time, but what’s made him even more dangerous is his improving plate discipline. Joey is much more apt to take a walk if pitchers choose not to challenge him. That just might be a good idea considering his 27 home runs and 85 RBIs last season. Grabanski has developed a mature approach while understanding there are plenty of others in the lineup who can inflict damage.
“My freshman year I struggled a lot with plate discipline,” Grabanski said. “I think I struck out 50 times. Coach Lang talked to me a lot about not having to do damage all the time. Just get on base and all my teammates will be there to back me up. I think that’s one thing we have put together well – our lineup is good from top to bottom. I need to take bases when I can instead of hurting the team. Getting on base and helping your team is always better than not.”
Make one mistake to Joey, and he’ll be touching all of the bases. Whether throwing him fastballs, breaking balls or any type of off-speed, be weary. Here’s the other thing – Joey isn’t solely a pull hitter. Your scoreboard in right center isn’t safe.
“It looks effortless,” Berg said. “He puts the ball off the scoreboard to the opposite gap. It doesn’t look like he’s trying that hard sometimes and he’s able to put up the ridiculous numbers that he does. He’s great, he’s fun to be around and he’s a good kid. He doesn’t make things too difficult for me. You just have to let him have his space to do the things that have gotten him to this point.”
Joey says that roughly 95 percent of the time he goes to the plate, he’s not even thinking about hitting a home run. The big flies come as a byproduct of God-given talent, impressive strength and an obsessive dedication to the craft. Those homers just might be fueled in part by some Domino’s pizzas, but that only adds to his Babe Ruth-like image and allure.
There’s about to be more noise surrounding Grabanski and his pursuit of NAIA home run supremacy, but his level-headedness figures to allow him to block it out. Listen to his head coach when he says this just isn’t something you’re going to see again. As Dupic said. “We have some really good players who are kind of winding up their careers in the next year or two. I think it’s well worth getting out there to see them play because it’s pretty special to see what they can do, especially when they all get it going.”
Grabanski will get it going again in February as he brings his booming bat to a ballpark near you. He truly is Concordia’s Colossus of Clout. Dare we say the Great Grabino? Nah, too cheesy.
“It meant a lot just knowing that all the hard work I put in has shown up somewhere,” Grabanski said of his school home run record. “Ultimately, my goal is the same as every person and every team out there – win the last game of the year. Getting to that is more important than any individual achievements. It’s nice to have personal achievements like that, but being together as a family and trying to win that last game is the best feeling.”