'Off the Bat' set to swing for the fences

NEW YORK -- We've got Bryce Harper, Derek Jeter, Giancarlo Stanton and David Ortiz. We've got Fat Joe, Sway, Melanie Iglesias and Chris Distefano. Put them together, and you have the ingredients for a new kind of sports-culture show that premieres on MTV2 at 11 p.m. ET tonight.

"Off the Bat from MLB Fan Cave" is executive produced by Ortiz, the 2013 World Series MVP from the Red Sox. Included in the first half-hour episode is a segment in which Iglesias, the "Girl Code" star, goes with Stanton to a junkyard for a home run demolition derby. Distefano visits retirees to get advice for Jeter, who will be making his final Opening Day start on the night of this premiere.

Harper is the first studio guest on the show, which uses the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan as a studio. He spent a couple of hours on Tuesday taping for the show. In one segment called "Cutting Off," contestants sit in barber chairs and have their heads shaved if they don't answer Harper trivia correctly. They greatly underestimate his career hit total to date, and he corrects them with the right answer of "261."

"I think baseball's very excited to be able to partner with MTV and see that other side of a lot of the players," Harper said. "It's a lot of fun, and I'm excited to be with a lot of celebrities and do certain things within the game of baseball."

Harper, 21, said it is important that baseball finds new ways to reach his generation of fans.

"It's a lot different now. I think Facebook, Twitter, social media is huge," he said. "Being able to enjoy it with the fans, fans make this game, being able to enjoy that with them, they see your personalities, see certain things. I think it's good for the game. I'm excited, and I think a lot of guys are."

Harper and the Nationals are 1-0 after their 9-7 victory in 10 innings over the Mets on Opening Day. He said this Nationals team is different than the ones before: "Being able to have a shot at a World Series title, it's going to be a lot of fun this year. I think a lot of guys are into what we're doing. One through nine, our lineup is incredible. One through five, our staff is great. Our bullpen is unbelievable. We just have to go out there and play the game we know how to play, and we'll see where we're at by the end."

In the meantime, you can expect to see a lot more of Harper off the field, not only in "Off the Bat," but in an upcoming Gatorade campaign that relaunches its "Fierce" products. He just joined the Gatorade roster of athletes, and his new campaign starts on April 10.

"I'm very excited to be able to partner up with Gatorade, and being able to be part of a company I have been [using] my whole life," Harper said. "I've been able to grow up with Gatorade and drink that before games and during games, and it is something I want to do now. Being able to get with a company that is so into sports and baseball, and just going full force into everything, is a lot of fun.

"The Fierce campaign is coming back, and a lot of people are excited about that, especially me, because I love all the Fierce products. ... All their products are unbelievable, all the nutritional things they need to put into it [that] they do. It's exciting being able to partner with the company."

More:
'Off the Bat' set to swing for the fences