J.J. Eno's '08 teammates like to call him "The Cut." Not because of the buzzed haircut he likes to hide beneath his baseball cap. Not because of the cut physique he spends hours a day honing in the gym. And definitely not because he was cut from the baseball team as a freshman trying to walk onto the squad.
"It's because when we play (intramural) flag football, I'm known as being shifty," Eno said.
Now, after walking onto the team as a sophomore last year, Eno might be known for another cut of his: his smooth and balanced left-handed swing. After batting .207 in limited action last year, Eno is now leading the team with a .368 average after seven games this season.
His recent success isn't a surprise to Head Coach Marek Drabinksi, who praised Eno for his work ethic. He said the individual work Eno put in during the offseason is paying off.
"Here's a kid who's a neuroscience major, and I can't remember the last time he's missed a practice or a weightlifting session," Drabinski said. "And if he did, you wouldn't have to worry about him because you know he'd make it up. That's just the kind of kid he is."
Eno is quick to deflect praise about his success at the plate, saying, "It's not a big deal." But he does credit his improved batting to the coaching staff, especially first-year assistant coach Bill Cilento, the team's main hitting coach. Eno said a small adjustment Cilento made to his batting stance - Eno used to rest his bat on his shoulder, but now holds it more upright - enabled him to shorten his swing and feel more comfortable at the plate.
Soft-spoken but eloquent, Jonathan-James Eno grew up in Kahului, Hawaii, on the island of Maui. At H.P. Baldwin High School, he excelled in baseball, football and soccer and was named the Maui News' Maui Interscholastic League Athlete of the Year during his senior year. He also excelled in academics, graduating as school valedictorian.
Eno said he wasn't heavily recruited by collegiate baseball programs, getting looks from the University of Hawaii as well as some smaller programs. He decided to attend Brown, he said, because "academics was my primary concern."
"If I could walk onto the team that was at Brown, then it would have been a bonus," Eno recalled thinking.
During the fall of his freshman year, Eno said he attended the one-day walk-on tryout with about six other players. Drabinski said he was impressed with Eno's skills, but his roster was already full and he didn't take any walk-ons that year.
Eno said he wasn't especially disappointed or discouraged by the news. In fact, he said it gave him a good opportunity to concentrate on school and to spend more time in the gym building up muscle for the next year. The next fall, Eno showed up at tryouts and impressed Drabinski again. This time, the coach added him to the roster.
Drabinski said he remembers calling Eno a day or two later to tell him he was on the team. But the coach said he forgot Eno had tried out a year earlier.
"I asked him, 'Why weren't you at the tryout last year?'" Drabinski said.
Without missing a beat, Eno replied, "No, I was, and you cut me," Drabinski recalled, laughing.
Eno said there's no stigma attached to him as a walk-on, saying the players easily accepted him. But while they don't question his baseball skills, some, like third baseman Matt Nuzzo '09, do like to rib him about his hometown - or island, rather.
"He always questions if Hawaii is part of America," Eno said with a smile.
Drabinski said he expects Eno to split time between leftfield and designated hitter this season. When he's in the lineup, Drabinski likes to bat him second.
"He can hit and run, he can put down the bunt, he can slash," Drabinski said. "He's a prototypical No. 2 hitter because of how he handles the bat."
While he has been hitting well in the young season, Eno, who is a bit undersize and doesn't hit for power, said he has absolutely no plans to pursue a professional baseball career. "I don't have a chance," he said.
But those who are worried about his career prospects shouldn't fret; Eno already has a four-year contract of sorts waiting for him after he graduates from college. The suitor? The Alpert Medical School.
Eno, a member of the Program in Liberal Medical Education, said, "I'm a PLME, so hopefully, medicine's in the future for me."
