A cut above

Although this dedicated barbershop space is new, the sentiment is not. The Blue Jays’ official team barber is Joshua Diamante, who has become one of the go-to barbers of the stars in Toronto, cutting everyone from Hollywood actor and director Michael B. Jordan to soccer star Cyle Larin to Sportsnet’s own Cabbie Richards.

It was a couple of his former high-profile baseball clients, Jose Bautista and Marcus Stroman, who brought Diamante into the Blue Jays’ ecosystem in 2016. Since then, the relationship has become official. In the early days he was cutting in the family room, apologizing for getting hair all over the kids and their toys. Now he has a space of his own full of tricked-out gadgets.

Diamante usually gets to the ballpark around noon and will cut anywhere from six to eight players before first pitch. But his role and his confines have long been a work in progress.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Diamante built a new space of his own, for Throne Barbershop in downtown Toronto. When it was still studs, concrete, loose wiring and a dream, he invited Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro for a tour.

“Nothing was finished yet,” Diamante recalls. “When I showed him the renders of the space, he saw some sign of inspiration and during the process of the renovation here at the Rogers Center, he actually called me and invited me to come to a couple of meetings to design this barbershop space right here.”

It’s one thing to design his own space, as Diamante was doing as an entrepreneur. Designing space with other people’s money was a different challenge. Slowly but surely, he pushed the envelope on what was possible, waiting to be reined in by Shapiro and Marnie Starkman, the team’s EVP of business operations. That never happened, so Diamante continued pushing his vision.

The biggest sign of the team’s investment was the very thing the uninitiated eye would take for granted. The Belmont barber chairs the players recline in are, as Diamante puts it, “the Ferrari of barber chairs.” The base models go for upwards of $7,000, and these custom chairs come in Blue Jays blue with a team logo embroidered into the headrest.

As for the space, it’s not just set it and forget. In fact, it’s still a work in progress. Have you ever seen the bathroom mirrors with TVs in them at five-star hotels? The Blue Jays have cycled through four of those in search of resolution as good as a 4K TV.

Around MLB, word has gotten out, so visiting players often make the long trek from their locker room on the other side of the stadium. Although Diamante will service road players when he can, he’ll take his tools and cut from a smaller shop outside the visitors’ locker room as the Blue Jays shop is strictly for the home team.

With many players and support staff in need of a cut, a pecking order has taken shape over time. Clubhouse attendants will monitor the flow and alert players when it’s time to visit the man they affectionately call “J.D.”

The first day back from a road trip is when the big dogs eat. When he was with the team, Russell Martin would often wait to get cut until after a bunch of young players had gone first so he could adequately top up his tip to cover them if needed. It’s understood starting pitchers get cut often on the day of their start if not the day before depending on their throwing routine. Similar to when a pitcher is throwing a no hitter, when a starter wants to get in the chair, everybody gets out of their way and lets them be. As for the manager, he gets fresh on Fridays in an event that has become his weekly ritual. On this Friday Schneider came through twice as he decided after some contemplation that he wanted to trim the beard further.

Schneider loves the space for more reason than his weekly cut, an all-around, high, skin fade blended into a faux hawk (no tail).

“It’s a competitive advantage,” he says. “It sets the tone for the players that we won’t take short cuts. We want everything to be elite. And the translation to the players is when they are immersed in that culture everywhere they look, it’s second nature for them to do the same. How can we ask them to be obsessed with all the details when they go to work, if the front office doesn’t do the same with their work environment?”

Plus, the space they’ve created keeps the work environment light. Set apart from fans, media or distractions, Diamante calls it their ‘sanctuary.’

“It’s literally like an escape from whatever world they’re coming out of,” Diamante says. “They just want to chop it up or they’ll actually get their haircut and stay here and just literally hang out, enjoy some music like how a barbershop should be – just communal energy and just sharing each other’s stories.”

While getting a cut — in his case, a faux hawk skin fade with emphasized tail — George Springer held court on video games. When he plays Call of Duty, he times it to match up with the after-school rush and not the hardcore gamers late at night. He’s boycotted the FIFA video game because of the time he was on a breakaway and his player pulled up with a hamstring injury only to see his opponent take the ball and score.

“I wasn’t even mad,” Springer recalls. “I was beyond mad. I was disappointed. How does that happen in a video game? It’s not even like he could have been tired. He was a sub!”

It’s stories like this that leave the whole room laughing and alleviate some pressure during a playoff race. But it’s not just the stars who come through to get taken care of. Once the players were done, a support staff member inquired about getting a quick cut in preparation for a ‘hot date.’ Diamante was happy to oblige.

Later on, Kevin Kiermaier came in for a cut. He opts for a really high bald fade with a No. 4 on top and a butter-soft blend. Here’s a snippet of our conversation:

Kevin Kiermaier: Over the years. I feel like the Blue Jays always had nice haircuts. I’m like, ‘man, they must have a good barber.’ So, when I came here this year, I kid you not even in spring training I said ‘where’s that barber who’s been hitting these dudes with the fades all these years?’ I get here and have the haircuts I’ve had all year, and I’ve got no complaints.

I mean, look at this room. This room just sets the vibe, sets the precedent right away. My boy, J.D., he can cut.

SN: Walk me through the thought process behind your cut.

KK: I used to just cut my own hair back in college. Me and my buddies would all just get like a one and just do buzz cuts because it was free and easy.

And I’ve always had super thick eyebrows, so my eyebrows were like three times as long as my hair up top. I liked the cut back in the day when I did it. But then once I started, being around all these nice barbers and fades and I thought my look with a little bit more on top was a much, much better look for me.

So, I’ve been riding this out for quite a while. I got my facial hair; I haven’t been clean shaven since 2014 and I love having at least a 5:00 shadow or some kind of scruff.

My wife likes my scruff, too, and every time it’s in terrible shape, she freaks out.

I would say most guys around the league are very OCD. So, I know these guys care a ton, but as someone in the chair, you appreciate the barber having OCD or trying to want to give you the perfect haircut.

And they’re sitting here looking in the mirror and just making sure everything’s perfect. That’s the way it should be. A haircut is a lot of pressure. I could never do it. I’d be afraid to mess up. But he’s got confidence and the output (is there) each and every time, it’s amazing.

Makes you feel aerodynamic. I’m on about a two-week cycle. Fourteen days, I’m looking to get another because my hair is boring and straight and it just kind of gets puffy. Not a good look for me. I try to just stay on top of it. I know other guys let it ride a little bit longer, but for me, it’s the sides I’ve got to have. I don’t mind the top, but I got to have my sides nice and short and nice and tight. It just makes everything the way I like it.

SN: Is it tangible? Do you think you play better when you have a fresh fade?

KK: I’ll tell you; it makes me feel lighter and younger, fresher. And I need that right now. Late season it’s tough. Body doesn’t feel great … but you know what? We signed up for and this is crunch time trying to make this playoff push. Just got to black out and go into that different mode.

You’re worn down mentally, physically and in so many ways. But this is what you play for to be in the playoff hunt in and be in the position we are and we’re about to we’re about to go on a run. It’s going to be a lot of fun for us.

Most guys, we want to have a clean cut. You feel good, you play good and it’s so true and we’re making plays, you hit the wall or something and your hat flies off and everyone’s like, ‘hey, what a great catch.’ I’m like, ‘Yes. What about that fade?’