For the first time in decades, the Yankees manager won’t be making weekly appearances on a New York sports radio station.
It’s a sign of the times when instead of making weekly hits with WFAN or rival station ESPN New York, Yankees manager Aaron Boone is opting for a podcast. According to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post, Boone is joining Jomboy Media for a weekly 20-minute segment with the company’s founders, Jimmy O’Brien and Jake Storiale on their Talkin’ Yanks podcast.
“My [agents] brought it up to me,’ Would you be open to something like this this year?’” Boone told The Post. “And I was like, ‘Hmm,’ because it’s a little outside the box, not your typical having your radio shot every week that’s kind of gone on certainly here for a long time.
“I thought it was a really interesting opportunity, and a cool idea. These guys have been innovators in this business and they’ve built a massive, young following. I think Jimmy and Jake are both really good guys. And they’re passionate about what they do, and they love the Yankees. And, sometimes they’re a little misguided and it’s my chance to set the record straight every now and then.”
That massive, young following was helped by the Yankees manager in a way, with Jomboy gaining notoriety after O’Brien uncovered Boone’s now famous “savages in the box” rant in 2019.
Boone likely won’t come cheap to Jomboy Media. The company didn’t state the financial terms of the deal, but New York sports radio stations typically pay managers six figures to make weekly appearances throughout the MLB season. Jomboy, a five-year old digital media company, has the capital after announcing they secured $5 million in funding last May from a cast of investors including WWE, Billy Crystal, C.C. Sabathia and Dwyane Wade.
The Post did not report whether Boone’s partnership with Jomboy is exclusive. Joe Torre and Joe Girardi were heard exclusively on WFAN during their time as manager of the Yankees. Boone (seen above during spring training this week), however, negotiated a non-exclusive deal with WFAN when he took over as Yankees manager in 2018, allowing him to make limited appearances on ESPN New York. Last year, Boone joined ESPN New York on a weekly basis, appearing on The Michael Kay Show, an unprecedented move considering WFAN is the Yankees flagship radio station.
Boone’s first Talkin’ Yanks podcast is scheduled for Sunday, March 26. He’s expected to have weekly appearances there over Zoom every Tuesday throughout the season.