The MLB‘s latest attempt to connect with America’s youth involves a deal with a prominent digital media company. The top professional baseball league has announced a “strategic partnership” with Jomboy Media, the sports brand known for its humorous social media content and its irreverent podcast network.
Jomboy’s namesake founder is Jimmy O’Brien, a New Jersey native who kicked off his media career in 2017 with a podcast called Talkin’ Yanks. O’Brien expanded beyond regional content on YouTube, where Jomboy’s lip-reads and highlight reels showcased the absurd and offbeat side of America’s pastime.
Emboldened by a fanbase that now includes more than two million YouTube subscribers, Jomboy began raking in ad deals and partnerships with regional networks like YES, the official broadcaster of O’Brien’s beloved New York Yankees. The 2024 launch of a wacky competition called Warehouse Games — which Bally Sports picked up — and the 2025 promotion of Courtney Hirsch to CEO signaled that Jomboy was ready for bigger, bolder undertakings.
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Enter MLB. As the league nears its 150th anniversary, it is falling behind some of its rivals in the realm of creator content. The MLB has given some opportunities to sports-savvy influencers like Katie Feeney, and it built one of the most prominent video players in internet history, but its creator slate doesn’t look so expansive where compared to those of the NFL and NBA.
Is it a coincidence that the MLB is also struggling to maximize its TV deals? I think not — after all, we live in an age where creator culture is directly linked to sports viewership.
The Jomboy deal will give the MLB a path to relevancy among younger generations. “MLB will utilize Jomboy Media’s expertise on MLB’s digital channels, create activations around key MLB events like the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby and help grow Jomboy Media’s stable of intellectual property including Talkin’ Baseball, Talkin’ Yanks, and The Warehouse Games,” reads the league’s official announcement of the deal.
In a video on his channel, O’Brien cheered the great progress his team has made in just a few short years. “We started making baseball content as a hobby and we have scaled it into a company with 60ish employees, tons of creators, and now we have huge news,” he said. “We’re nothing without the people who have been advocating for us, watching, engaging, and getting us to this point.”
If the MLB is wise, the Jomboy deal will only be the start of its creator push. As a matter of fact, there’s another Jimmy on YouTube who just so happens to be a former high school baseball standout. But before that potential cleanup hitter steps to the plate, O’Brien and his team of enthusiasts will get an at bat of their own.
