James Vincent Michael O'Brien (born February 18, 1989), better known by his nickname Jomboy, is an American baseball commentator, podcast host, and internet personality. He co-created the popular New York Yankees podcast Talkin' Yanks in 2017, and rose to wider prominence in 2019 with his viral "breakdown" videos, in which he examines notable sporting events in detail, often aided by his lip reading ability.[3] His commentary is known for its light-hearted and goofy style.[3]
| Jomboy | ||||||||||
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 O'Brien in 2021 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | James Vincent Michael O'Brien[1] February 18, 1989 Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||
| Occupation | Sports media content creator | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Subscribers | 1.7 million[2] | |||||||||
| Total views | 1.0 billion[2] | |||||||||
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Last updated: 22 February 2023 | ||||||||||
O'Brien is founder of the multimedia company Jomboy Media, which has grown to include YouTube and podcast series such as Talkin' Baseball, The Chris Rose Rotation, Baseball Today, and The Warehouse Games.[4] As of 2022, the company had 64 employees.[5] That year, it signed a contract with the Yankees broadcaster YES Network. In recent seasons, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has regularly appeared on the Talkin' Yanks podcast.
Early life and career
editO'Brien was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, and lived in Hazlet, New Jersey, until he was eight years old. He later lived in Lindfield, New South Wales; Lake Zurich, Illinois; Southbury, Connecticut; Livermore, California; Newtown, Connecticut; back to the San Francisco Bay Area; and then Lavallette, New Jersey, before moving to New York City.[6][7] O'Brien attended Central Connecticut State University and graduated near the middle of his class with a degree in history.[8]
After graduating from college, he worked as a wedding videographer and moonlighted in food delivery.[5] In 2015, he created a viral video called "Scaring My Mom With a Fake Dog," showing a repeated prank on his mother, and sold the rights to the video for $4,000.[9]
Jomboy Media
editIn 2017, O'Brien created a podcast called Talkin' Yanks with his friend Jake Storiale[5] and produced by David Mendelsohn, which built a following and led O'Brien to raise money and turn Jomboy Media into a full-time job by the end of 2018.[10]
While watching a July 2019 Yankees game, O'Brien discovered Aaron Boone's argument with umpire Brennan Miller had been picked up by microphones on an MLB.TV feed, and he published the video of the argument with subtitles showing what was being said. The video went viral and Boone's use of the phrase "savages in the box" became a motto for the Yankees.[11] O'Brien published more "breakdowns" of incidents in MLB and other sports with occasionally profane commentary and gained 300,000 YouTube subscribers after the Boone video. Yankees and MLB officials expressed mixed reactions to the viral video, with some questioning whether fans should be able to hear conversations on the field and in the dugout and others appreciating O'Brien for making creative content that could market baseball to younger fans. He also started Talkin' Baseball, a baseball podcast in July 2019 with Storiale. The podcast is produced by Mendelsohn and was joined in 2020 by former Major League Baseball player Trevor Plouffe.[3][5][12]
In November 2019, O'Brien published a two-minute video appearing to demonstrate how the Astros were stealing signs in the 2017 season as a part of the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal, within hours of the release of an article in The Athletic which detailed the allegations for the first time.[13][5] In the video, O'Brien showed the scheme playing out in real time in a game against the Chicago White Sox. Whenever catcher Kevan Smith called for pitcher Danny Farquhar to throw a changeup, the sound of someone banging on a trash can in the Astros' dugout was clearly audible. The White Sox were forced to change their signs as a result. O'Brien argued that this sequence proved there was no way the Astros could have gotten the signs without the help of technology.[14] O'Brien published more videos in subsequent days, which garnered millions of views on YouTube, Twitter and other platforms.[15]
In March 2022, Jomboy Media signed a partnership with Yankee-broadcaster YES Network. That year, the company consisted of 64 employees.[5]
In an interview with The New York Times, O'Brien described Jomboy Media's banter as "fun, not funny," and stated that, "the easiest way to get laughs sometimes is to knock other people down or go negative. That isn’t really our vibe." This "goofier, more inviting approach" was contrasted to the edginess of fellow sports entertainment company Barstool Sports.[5]
Cricket
editJomboy Media has been noted for being a major supporter of cricket's growth in the United States, with cricket content featuring regularly on its YouTube channels, and collaboration having taken place between Jomboy Media and Major League Cricket due to Jomboy Media's ability to reach baseball fans.[16][17] O'Brien's personal interest in cricket started at the time that he had his first child and had no live sports content to watch other than cricket; his time spent in Australia as a child was also a factor. He was a commentator at the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[18][19]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11th Streamy Awards | Sports | Nominated | [20] |
References
edit- ^ Jomboy [@Jomboy_] (September 13, 2012). "#tbt Strongest brother (named James Vincent Michael O'Brien and lives on Merlin's lane in Newtown ct) alive? http://instagr.am/p/Phcqgwm3V3/" (Tweet). Retrieved January 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "About Jomboy Media". YouTube.
- ^ a b c Block, Erica (December 25, 2019). "Could baseball influencers such as Jomboy, PitchingNinja offer solution to MLB's marketing woes?". Arizona PBS / Cronkite News. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ "About". Jomboy Media. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Schonbrun, Zach (September 14, 2022). "A Sports Media Empire Runs on 'Good Vibes Only'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Jomboy [@Jomboy_] (October 23, 2019). "Oh fun! // 0-8: Hazlet, New Jersey // 8-10: Lindfield, NSW, Australia // 10-14: Lake Zurich, Illinois // 14-16: Southbury, CT // 16-20: Livermore, CA // 20-24: Newtown, CT // 24-28: Walnut Creek/Livermore/Pleasanton, CA // 28-30: Lavallette, NJ // a couple weeks from now- :New York City" (Tweet). Retrieved January 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Carig, Marc (November 22, 2019). "The improbable rise of the internet force known as Jomboy". The Athletic | ink. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ O'Brien, Jimmy (November 5, 2019). "67. Baseballs Greatest Legends | The Myth of the Man Behind Baseball" (Podcast). Laughs From the Past. Event occurs at 06:55. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
If I ever get a Wikipedia page I need it to be, 'Graduated from Central Connecticut State University in the middle of his class'. Or you know what, throw a 'near the middle of his class'.
- ^ Hines, Ree (January 21, 2015). "Man pranks mom with fake dog — again and again". TODAY.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ McCarthy, Michael (March 5, 2020). "After Viral Astros and Yankees Videos, 'Jomboy' Looks To Build Media Brand". frntofficesport.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Harvey, Coley (August 16, 2019). "How a fan's viral video turned Aaron Boone's Yankees into 'savages'". ESPN. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ Neale III, La Velle E. (November 21, 2021). "Prognosticator Plouffe called Series right". Star Tribune. p. C2. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Drellich, Evan (January 31, 2023). "How The Athletic broke the Houston Astros cheating scandal: Excerpt". The Athletic. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Gaydos, Ryan (November 13, 2019). "Video shows how Houston Astros were allegedly stealing signs during 2017 season". Fox News. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ Lee, Joon (January 17, 2020). "How the internet helped crack the Astros' sign-stealing case". ESPN. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ Shea, Bill. "Baseball vanquished cricket in the U.S. once, but a new skirmish is afoot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ Purohit, Abhishek (August 13, 2022). "Cricket chases the American dream". The Indian Express. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ Hoult, Nick (June 16, 2024). "Meet 'Jomboy': The Yankees fan turned cricket convert using baseball to call the T20 World Cup". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Farrell, Melinda (May 24, 2024). "Meet Jomboy – the American baseball pundit making cricket fun for newbies". Al Jazeera. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (October 20, 2021). "YouTube Streamy Awards 2021 Nominations Announced, MrBeast Leads With Seven Nods". Variety.
External links
edit- Jomboy's channel on YouTube
- Jomboy on Twitter