Will Ferrell will play shortstop for Oakland A's, all other positions for other teams Thursday

Actor and comedian Will Ferrell will play shortstop for the Oakland Athletics and the rest of the positions for other teams in five different Cactus League games on Thursday for an HBO special designed to benefit the fight against cancer, MLB.com has announced (Jane Lee tweeted Ferrell's position). Thursday's A's game against the Seattle Mariners at HoHoKam Stadium was moved up to noon to accommodate the performance, as were game times around the Cactus League. Farrell will take a helicopter between the various Cactus League stadiums in and around Phoenix.

Ferrell will play every position in a tribute to Bert Campaneris, who performed the feat for the Kansas City Athletics on September 8, 1965, becoming the first major league player to do so in a single game. Campaneris will be on hand at HoHoKam Stadium as Farrell takes the field.

Ferrell's and Campy's feat will have at least one thing in common, they will come in games that did not matter. The A's were 51-87 when Campaneris played every position in 1965 as part of a stunt to boost attendance. They drew 21,576 for that game. The following day, a Thursday, the A's drew only 1,271 patrons for a night game.

Major League Baseball will auction off game-used memorabilia from Ferrell's performance to benefit Cancer for College and Stand Up To Cancer.