After 7 a.m. recently, Jimmy O’Brien took the elevator to his office in Midtown Manhattan, black coffee in hand and one thing on his mind: firing Rocco Baldelli.
“People are going to be mad if we don’t get this out first,” O’Brien said.
For the next two and a half hours, he squinted into the morning light in his corner office as Baldelli, the manager of the Minnesota Twins, fumed and filled the two screens in front of him. O’Brien investigated every aspect of Baldelli’s interactions with the referees like a criminal record.
Pause Refund. Slow motion. Pause Refund.
He exhaled, after cracking the code by reading Baldelli’s lips, he continued: “He said: ‘It’s a rule. They just didn’t call him.’ “
He typed the sentence into a text that he would tell later. The YouTube video went on to garner over a million views.
Relative to his other manager’s tirades, Baldelli’s confrontation was a decisive one — an impasse erupted over calls near home plate in the midst of baseball’s defensive days. But O’Brien never misses many opportunities to entertain — and often enlighten — his large audience of baseball fans. He built a digital sports empire on it.
Jomboy Media, the startup that grew out of O’Brien’s GIF-based social media feed and grew big thanks to its coverage of baseball scandals, has nearly doubled its workforce to 64 as of 2021. It recently closed a $5 million funding round led by the Creative Arts Agency that includes athletes and celebrities. It’s the kind of behavior that can ruin something born of love, but O’Brien and his company have managed to transition from hobby to big business without straying from what made them who they are. are not related at first.
From their bright, white office space – where the walls are decorated with blackboards, mock-up boards and pictures of frogs (the company’s mascot) – Jomboy’s employees fill the company’s food with various sports programs for their subscribers 1.6 million YouTubers and an additional 900,000 or so followers. on Twitter and Instagram. The company’s podcast network now includes about two dozen shows. In March, Jomboy signed a partnership with YES Network, which broadcasts Yankees games, to produce content and simulcast shows.
At the center of it all is a sports broadcaster who never intended to be one. O’Brien, 33, has gray hair, sharp blue eyes, a thick beard and a voice suited for talk radio. However, he was never interested in broadcasting.
“I would never call myself a journalist,” O’Brien said. “I’m still just a big fan. And I’m not going to change.”
O’Brien and Jake Storiale, his best friend and creative partner, co-hosted the video, “Talkin’ Yanks,” in which they filmed after Yankees games. In August, as the Yankees first pitched, the tone of the show became smaller. But they refuse to compare it to the angsty, sports commentary on the radio dial.
“I think what we’re offering is a conversation that people feel like they’re having with their friends,” O’Brien said.
Negativity is just not part of the vibe here.
The company’s rise, from friends having fun to the perfect media outlet, can be traced back to the same era of viral video. In November 2019, The Game broke the story of the Houston Astros’ brilliant scheme to throw pitches to hitters. But, in many ways, it was a video of O’Brien, who read lips and found clues in a game between the Astros and the White Sox, that gave fans their first glimpse of the sign-stealing scandal.
The video went viral on social media, making Jomboy’s account a must-follow for baseball Twitter. O’Brien was three years removed from a full-time job as a wedding photographer who served food in his evenings and was wondering what to do with his life. He spent a year doing podcasts with Storiale, who worked in sales for an electronics group in Denver.
Unsurprisingly, followers are clamoring for more of O’Brien’s editing skills. Since then he’s done pranks that include cricket, lacrosse, pickleball, “Wheel of Fortune” and Will Smith’s beatdown of Chris Rock at the Oscars.
As the company grew, O’Brien and Storiale continued to develop the strength that made them famous in the first place. Their staff adheres to their highest standards, which O’Brien calls being “fun, not ridiculous.”
“The easiest way to get a laugh sometimes is to make other people look bad or bad,” he said. “That’s not really our emotions.”
This may be considered a noble effort, but he insists that it is nothing to them. He and Storiale generally don’t want to fight.
O’Brien said: “We were all identified as being at odds because we had older brothers who fought with their parents.” “We are the bringers of peace.”
They call themselves the “applause company” because they really cheer for their colleagues. When the team traveled to Los Angeles to film and network during this year’s All-Star Game festivities, it rented Airbnbs instead of hotel rooms.
“Twenty of us lived together,” said O’Brien, who lives in Bloomfield, N.J., with his wife and 10-month-old son. I grew up in a big family. That’s how I grew up, and that’s what I love. Everyone got up at a different time and went into the kitchen and there were bags. That’s what we do. We’ll see how long we can do that. “
So far he has placed them among the best of Major League Baseball and many of its players, including Ian Happ, the Chicago Cubs outfielder who hosts a weekly podcast on the Jomboy Network. It also created a wealth of brushwork content that was clearly designed to generate traffic — Storiale wanders around the office asking random employees, for example — rather than authentic conversation.
Joe Favorito, a sports industry analyst and lecturer in Columbia University’s sports management program, contrasted Jomboy’s goofier, more inviting approach to Barstool Sports’ creation, a rebel media group now with more than half a billion dollars.
“They’re the smallest element of what Barstool is all about,” Favorito said. “They took this unique, irreverent position while also respecting the game of baseball — with a great sense of humor.”
Jomboy’s escape from the toxicity and inconsistency on social media is what attracted the attention of some big investors, including Alexis Ohanian of Reddit and Seven Seven Six, who participated in the new round of funding.
Ohanian wrote in an email that “the partnership has backfired.” “People are attracted to good vibes.”
He added: “They’re making baseball accessible to all generations. I think that goes beyond the Yankees fan base. I’d love to see them expand into other sports.”
A story like this requires more homework for O’Brien, who still selects, edits and narrates the popular “spoof” videos himself, averaging three to four hours per video.
His ability to read lips is a mystery. There is no deafness in the family. O’Brien said he had a talent for it.
“When I’d watch games with my dad, if a pitcher was coming off a mound screaming and yelling, he’d stop him and turn him around and ask me, ‘What did he say, Jim?'” O’Brien said. “And I will tell him.”
Some visual cues are easier to identify than others. O’Brien, for example, struggled for hours trying to pin down a specific statement Yankees manager Aaron Boone made when he was fired for controversially calling a strike in July.
“I was looking at it and I was like, ‘I’m sure he was saying, ‘buffer zone,”’ O’Brien said. “We used it, and there was a whole story recently about how the M.L.B. Umpires have a two-inch buffer zone on the plate side.”
He released the video, which includes an explanation of the buffer zone and why Boone is about to burst a blood vessel arguing about it. It has been viewed 735,000 times.
“He’s a great storyteller,” said Andrew Patterson, the former senior director of new media at MLB Advanced Media who was hired in July as Jomboy Media’s first CEO. “What he got was not always the moment of light. Most of the time it was the few moments that were not taken care of. And he put out a story that people thought he was impressed with.”
Jomboy, who still does not have his own website, continues to build his extensive network. Last month, O’Brien cut and posted a video that quickly eclipsed his record for Twitter views (37 million views). It’s a 58-second clip of an Oklahoma Little League player comforting the player who hit him in the head with a pitch.
O’Brien was riding that day for a reason. He got a message from a friend who was close to Baldelli, the Twins manager.
“He said Baldelli told me to tell you, ‘You nailed it,'” O’Brien said.
Why are they called Trashtros?
‘Trashtros:’ Yankee fans booed the Astros at Bronx 1 earlier, outside Yankee Stadium. The name stitched on the back reads: ‘Trashcan. Read also : The job scam gets a high-tech upgrade. A Yankees fan holds a picture of Jose Altuve in the trash can during Tuesday’s game against the Astros.
How did Jomboy start? Jomboy became an internet sensation in 2019 when he created a viral video that showed and translated what New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone appeared to be saying during an argument with a baseball umpire.
What do Dodger fans call themselves?
Los Angeles Dodgers Bleeding Dodger Blue – Awesome fans. Dem Bums – From the Brooklyn Age.
What MLB team was caught cheating?
The Houston Astros Cheating Story: Sign Theft, Buzzer Intrigue and Pennant Damage. The team fired its manager, A. On the same subject : ‘This is a Matter of Equality’: Maryland Law to Allow Religious Garments in College Sports.J. Hinch, and general manager, Jeff Luhnow, after being suspended for a year.
How much does Jimmy O’Brien make?
Conan O’Brien: $85 Million Conan O’Brien is a late night TV brand that has served him well in basic cable. His smart, new drama and hit production company has netted him an estimated net worth of $85 million. On the same subject : Netflix Stock: Buy Down (NASDAQ:NFLX). He earns $12 million a year on TBS.
How old is johnboy media? Jomboy Media is a New York-based multimedia sports and entertainment company founded in 2017 by Jimmy âJomboyâ O’Brien.
Who runs Jomboy Media?
James O’Brien – Chief Executive Officer – Jomboy Media | LinkedIn.
Who is Jimmy O Brien?
| Birthday | November 27, 1996 |
| Place of birth | Eadestown Kildare, Ireland |
| Stop | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st; 200 lb) |
| Rugby Union work |
|---|
How old is Jomboy?
How many people work for Jomboy media?
Jomboy Media’s corporate office is located at 930 Grand Concourse Apt 1B, Bronx, New York, 10451, USA and has 21 employees.
Where is Jomboy Media established? About us. Jomboy Media is a New York-based multimedia sports and entertainment company founded in 2017 by Jimmy âJomboyâ O’Brien.
Who is Jake from Jomboy?
Jake Storiale – Partner, Content Creator and Business Operations – Jomboy Media | LinkedIn.
Who works at Jomboy Media?
| Name | Status | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Condor | Head of Social Media | New Jersey, USA |
| Zachary Esposito | The Videographer’s Guide | New York, USA |
| Matthew Massina | Video Editor | Pennsylvania, USA |
| Paxton Elrod | Host / Content Creator | New York, USA |
Who runs Jomboy Media?
James O’Brien – Chief Executive Officer – Jomboy Media | LinkedIn.
Who owns Jomboy Media? Jomboy Media, the four-year-old New York-based multi-sports company founded by Jimmy O’Brien, announced a $5 million funding round today led by Connect Ventures.
Who is Jake from Jomboy?
Jake Storiale – Partner, Content Creator and Business Operations – Jomboy Media | LinkedIn.
Who started Jomboy?
Jomboy Media, the popular media company founded by Jimmy O’Brien, has secured $5 million in funding that will allow the company to expand into more sports channels.
