Will Ferrell To Suit Up For 5 Spring Training Games As Part of HBO Special

Comedian Will Ferrell will suit up for 10 different teams in five MLB Spring Training games on Thursday, March 12, as part of an upcoming HBO special which will raise funds for several cancer-fighting charities. Ferrell will travel by chopper to each Arizona ballpark.

Will Ferrell is set to play in several MLB Spring Training games.

According to Rolling Stone’s James Montgomery, Ferrell will barnstorm five MLB Spring Training games in Arizona and suit up for all ten teams involved on March 12. Ferrell will play “every position on the field, and mabye some off the field.” This will be for an upcoming HBO special which will honor former MLB player Bert “Campy” Campaneris and raise funds for several anti-cancer charities. 

More specifically, Ferrell wants to pay tribute to Campaneris’ feat of playing every field position five decades ago, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. On Sept, 8, 1965, Campaneris, then a second-year MLB player, played all nine positions for the then-Kansas City Athletics against the then-California Angels. He went 0 for 3 in that game. He is expected to accompany Ferrell in his barnstorming tour.

John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer obtained an official release from the Arizona Diamondbacks which has the specific details:

“Ferrell’s goal is to honor Bert ‘Campy’ Campaneris while also helping organizations dedicated to fighting cancer, including Cancer for College. Formed in 1993, Cancer for College is a charity that helps individuals adversely affected by cancer to realize their dream of a college education.

“An important part of the fund-raising efforts will be game-used memorabilia from Ferrell’s journey across the five ballparks to be auctioned online later in the year on MLB.com with proceeds being donated to Cancer for College as well as Stand Up To Cancer, a groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research. MLB is the founding donor of Stand Up To Cancer.”

#FerrellTakesTheField tomorrow! Will Ferrell to play 10 positions in 5 Cactus League games. http://t.co/Tq55akcjiW pic.twitter.com/mZ1FHvm3tV— MLB (@MLB) March 11, 2015

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke about Ferrell taking part in Spring Training in a press release obtained by The Chicago Tribune’s Colleen Kane:

“Will is a big fan of our game, and many of us in baseball — among our clubs, players and our millions of fans — are big fans of his. Major League Baseball is happy to take part in what will surely be a fun and memorable day for a great cause.”

Chicago White Sox pitcher John Danks spoke with Kane about his expectations for Ferrell. He said,”I don’t expect a homer. I’m sure he’s just trying to make contact. I imagine it won’t be a quick at-bat. He probably has some sort of antics.”

His teammate, center fielder Adam Eaton, also chimed in, per Kane:

“He’s awesome. We’re excited to meet him, and hopefully he does something special on the diamond.

“I think he’s going to find out how difficult baseball is extremely quick. It’s difficult to jump right in there and expect to show somebody something. It’s a lot of pressure for him, so it should be interesting.”

For his part, Diamondbacks second baseman told Gilbert that Ferrell is one of his favorite comedians. He said,”He’s one of my favorites. His creativity is so funny because you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

Ferrell’s schedule on Thursday is as follows, per Vulture.com’s Dee Lockett (all times PST):

• 12:05 p.m.: Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics (HoHoKam Stadium)
• 1:10 p.m.: Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Tempe Diablo Stadium)
• 2:10 p.m.: Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks (Salt River Fields at Talking Stick)
• 4:05 p.m.: San Francisco Giants at Chicago White Sox (Camelback Ranch) 
• 6:15 p.m.: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres (Peoria Stadium)

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