SALISBURY, Md. – When the 2020 college baseball season came to an early finish, 2020 seniors were granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 to make up for the pandemic-shortened calendar, which means Salisbury University outfielder Justin Meekins gets to return for a fifth season. And one more chance to outdo himself in his headshot.
"I've gotten a lot of recommendations from friends and people that I know," said Meekins before participating in a pre-Thanksgiving scrimmage. "I guess I have to stick with the weird glasses concept, but I don't want to go too over the top cause it just looks like I'm trying too hard. Keep it subtle, but still have it leave an impact somehow."
If there's one thing Meekins knows, it's how to make an impact, proven by the national fame he garnered last February for his extravagant headshots. The 2020 model featured the Berlin native sporting long hair, a full beard, a handlebar mustache and a monocle. It was the sort of look befitting someone who, after spending all day robbing base hits in center field, would spend his nights raiding corporate rivals and siccing Pinkertons on budding labor leaders.
Meekins' headshots have evolved through their years in their complexity. After a relatively clean-cut approach to his freshman picture, the Stephen Decatur High School product showed up for his sophomore shoot sporting a full mustache, locks down to his shoulders and Dwight Schrute glasses. Junior year it was golden-framed specs and a Rollie Fingers handlebar 'stache.
"My mom doesn't like [my long hair] as much," said Meekins, "but my dad likes the beard and the hair looks. He thinks it gives me power, so I guess it does."
Indeed, Meekins' flow bares something of a Samson-esque quality. He boasts a .354 batting average and 1.016 OPS through 135 career games and earned First-Team All-Capital Athletic Conference (CAC, now Coast-to-Coast) accolades in his first three complete seasons.
"[Justin] is a carefree young man who gets the most out of his ability, who loves to have fun when he's out here on the baseball field," said Sea Gull head coach Troy Brohawn. "On the flipside he works his tail off every single day and earns a lot of respect from the players. Does he march to the beat of his own drum? Yes, he does, and I think it's shown over the evolution of his team pictures over the years."
"When I first did the weird roster photo my sophomore year, I wasn't sure how [Coach Brohawn] was going to take it," said Meekins. "He started laughing, so I was like 'All right, I can get away with this now.' He's growing out a beard on his own; I don't know if it's from me or not, but his beard looks really good."
For Meekins, the yearly adventure of picture day is all about what he calls "embracing the weirdness." Among ballplayers, he's not alone. Baseball has always been an outlet for eccentric personalities, from old-timers Yogi Berra and "Spaceman" Bill Lee to modern oddballs like Brian Wilson and Hunter Pence.
"It's just a tough game mentally, it kind of drains you," said Meekins. "You have days where you feel great and days when you don't. I think you just have to figure out how to have fun and make each day interesting.
"You'll have days where you do great and days where you do terrible, and you need to find a way to stay on an even path. Staying weird, for me, keeps things normal. I know it sounds backward, but being weird makes me feel comfortable and normal."
"[Players] can have their own rituals, they can be free, they can be who they want to be," said Brohawn. "It's to each his own, and I think it promotes a lot of individuality in a team sport."
That next-level individuality first caught the attention of The Podcast About Division III Baseball, who tweeted out Meekins' headshot progression on February 19. Within hours the post went viral after earning a writeup from Eric Chesterton on MLB.com. Soon after it was a cameo on ESPN's Around the Horn; Mina Kimes won the point and the showdown after suggesting Meekins' monocled look was an homage to Mr. Peanut. Finally, the cherry on top of this whimsical sundae: a formal interview with the mothership's Rachel Marcus in which Meekins revealed the infamous monocle almost didn't make it in time for the picture.
"The day that it blew up, I looked at my phone after a game and it had an enormous amount of texts and missed calls," said Meekins. "It got as big as I thought it would, it was definitely fun in the moment."
The notoriety has led to an uptick in trash-talk from opposing players; "put your monocle on, maybe you'll see better" is common after a strikeout. Despite getting more lip from his foes – ironic, considering their own lips aren't nearly as impressive – Meekins has stayed grounded after his (hair)brush with viral fame.
"It hasn't changed me," said Meekins. "I'm still just as weird and loveable."
Meekins is keeping his 2021 headshot plans close to the vest, but the predictions are rolling in from teammates and coaches.
"I've heard some guys say you've got to go the complete opposite and shave everything," said Brohawn. "Eyebrows, beard, hair. I'm pretty sure he thought about it when he decided to come back. Everybody's going to be watching. [The expectations] are sky-high, so he's got to live up to them."
