MLB Takes Swing with ‘Celebrity Sluggers’ From Team Whistle

Celebrity Sluggers Team Whistle MLB Original
Host Hannah Stocking with Celebrity Slugger Brandon Perea (Image credit: Team Whistle Magnet)

Celebrities take turns trying to hit homers in MLB Originals’ new talk show and competition series Celebrity Sluggers, produced with Team Whistle’s Magnet unit.

Launched this week, the six-episode series is hosted by internet personality Hannah Stocking, who has more than 50 million social media followers. Her guest hitters are Brandon Perea, JoJo Siwa, D’Arcy Carden, Aubrey Plaza, Charli D’Amelio and Xolo Maridueña. 

Stocking interviews the celebrity sluggers in the middle of a baseball diamond. She then tests their batting skills with a pitching machine that speeds up as the show goes on. Batters aim to knock the ball over the fence or hit targets to earn points and win money for charity.

Celebrity Sluggers is available on Major League Baseball's YouTube channel, MLB.TV and Facebook.

“We are always looking to connect with our fans beyond the game on the field and that means developing entertaining programming with unique content that is baseball-adjacent,” MLB senior VP of creative and content marketing Scott Weisenthal said. “Celebrity Sluggers features some of today’s bright young stars and we’re excited to connect baseball and culture through this new series.”

Team Whistle launched Magnet to create sports-focused social media content aimed at Gen Z and millennial consumers.

“Magnet exists to help our partners create original content conceived for and tailored to audiences across social channels,” said Danielle Johnsen Karr, head of Magnet. “We were thrilled to work with MLB to create a series that delivers authentic content and brings new excited audiences.”  ■

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.