As athlete-driven media brands continue to scale across platforms and sports, All The Smoke productions is expanding its footprint with a calculated move into baseball, signaling both confidence in its storytelling model and belief in an underserved audience within the sport.
All The Smoke, the basketball-focused podcast and production company co-founded by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, announced the launch of ATS Baseball via Front Office Sports on Wednesday. This marks its first formal step into covering Major League Baseball and its surrounding culture.
The new vertical will be anchored by a flagship podcast titled ATS Dugout. The show will produce more than 20 episodes during the upcoming baseball season. Barnes will serve as a recurring host. He will be joined by a rotating group of former MLB All-Stars, including Nick Swisher and Chris Young.
“Over the years, we’ve featured several greats of the game on All The Smoke and the response from our community has been overwhelming,” said Barnes, CEO of ATSP. “I grew up playing baseball and have always had a deep love and respect for it. I’m excited to build this vertical, explore the rich stories and amazing characters that have largely gone unheard and continue growing our brand.”
The format mirrors the conversational, player-first approach that helped build All The Smoke into a prominent voice within basketball media. Although the initiative does not represent an official partnership with Major League Baseball, the league has played an indirect role in its development through CC Sabathia, who serves as a league ambassador and helped connect the company with potential collaborators.
Company leadership cited audience behavior as the primary driver behind the expansion. COO Brian Dailey said episodes featuring baseball guests produced unusually strong engagement. Appearances by former stars like Gary Sheffield showed clear demand. Viewers responded to baseball content presented through a more personal and unfiltered lens.
“Baseball is surging—it’s experiencing a real renaissance right now,” said ATSP COO Brian Dailey. “We’re seeing younger fans come into the game while longtime fans are rediscovering what makes it special. We’re excited to bring our distinct style of storytelling to baseball, connecting with audiences in a way that feels fresh, authentic, and engaging across platforms.”
That insight aligns with a broader industry conversation about baseball’s ability to market its personalities. Digital platforms now reward authenticity and direct access. ATS Baseball aims to address that gap. It gives former players a space to share stories once limited to clubhouses and private conversations.
Barnes, who played baseball through high school before ultimately focusing on basketball, emphasized that the expansion also carries a personal component, rooted in revisiting the athletes and moments that shaped his early fandom.
With additional verticals already in development following a recent move into combat sports, All The Smoke productions continues to position itself as a multi-sport content engine, leveraging athlete credibility and audience trust to expand beyond its basketball roots while tapping into storytelling opportunities across the broader sports landscape.
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