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The Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on Wednesday announced that Will Ferrell will be at Hohokam Stadium and Camelback Ranch on Thursday, participating in a once-in-a-lifetime role for the lifelong baseball fan, as production begins on a new special from Funny Or Die, in partnership with Major League Baseball, to air exclusively on HBO later this year.

Ferrell is expected to play shortstop for the A's and catcher for the Giants.

Dedicating the project to the fight against cancer, Ferrell is also honoring the historic feat by Bert Campaneris five decades ago by playing every position on the field and maybe some off the field for 10 different teams in the same day.

“The A’s are pleased to be part of this effort with MLB and Will Ferrell to support the fight against cancer,” said A’s President Michael Crowley. “In celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Campy Campaneris’ unique feat, we are thrilled to recognize one of our great icons and our rich history with one of today’s biggest celebrities. This fun event will be another great example of how baseball makes connections across generations.”

“We are delighted to welcome Will to the team and to support his efforts to raise much needed funds in the fight against cancer,” said Giants President & Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer. “Tomorrow will be a fun day for baseball fans everywhere.” 

A list of the games at which Ferrell will be playing is below:

March 12 (all times Pacific; subject to change)
12:05 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics (Hohokam Stadium)
1:10 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Angels (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 (ss) (Camelback Ranch)
6:15 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres (Peoria Stadium)

Ferrell’s goal is to honor “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 fundraising 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.

Ferrell’s historic day will be chronicled in the exclusive HBO special which will air later this year and also feature MLB players, managers, coaches, executives and fans. Fans can follow along live and on-demand throughout the day across MLB Network, MLB.com, athletics.com and the official accounts on social media platforms.

On Sept. 8, 1965, Campaneris, in only his second Major League season, played all nine positions for the Kansas City Athletics in a game against the California Angels. Campaneris is expected to be there with Ferrell as he begins his journey tomorrow.

The A’s agreed to move the start time for tomorrow’s game against the Mariners to 12:05 p.m. This adjustment from the original 1:05 p.m. time slot was to accommodate a request by Major League Baseball as part of the collaboration with HBO and Funny Or Die to film the project tomorrow.

The White Sox and Giants agreed to move the start time for tomorrow’s game to 4:00 p.m. This adjustment from the original 1:05 p.m. time slot was to accommodate a request by Major League Baseball as part of the collaboration with HBO and Funny Or Die to film the project tomorrow.

Tickets are available for tomorrow’s game online at athletics.com. Parking lots will open at 9 a.m. and gates will open at 10 a.m. Tickets already purchased with the original 1:05 p.m. time listed will be valid for the new start time.

Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants media services contributed to this report