March 13--TEMPE, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon had a prior incident with comedian-actor Will Ferrell dating back to his days with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Maddon was managing at Yankee Stadium when he heard a relentless voice.
"Someone was ragging me the whole game," Maddon recalled. "'Hey, Joe. Hey Maddon.' I wouldn't turn around.
"After the game, the guys told me, 'That was Will Ferrell.'"
Maddon replied: "Why didn't you tell me that was Will Ferrell?"
At any rate, Maddon said that at least Ferrell knows his name and is a big fan of his movies, saying he's watched Talladega Nights at least 20 times and Step-Brothers 25 times.
Ferrell played for the Angels and Cubs as part of his attempt to play all nine positions at five different ballparks.
As for the injury risk, Maddon quipped: "He's a big boy. He knows what he's getting into. I'm sure the insurance policy is exorbitant."
Ferrell arrived before the bottom of the second inning in an Angels' uniform and took some popcorn from a fan before he was mobbed by Angels players in the dugout.
He replaced Angels star center fielder Mike Trout in the top of the third, waved to fans sitting on the left field berm. Farrell played a deep center field but managed to field Welington Castillo's single cleanly.
After the top of the third ended, Ferrell retreated to the visitor's clubhouse, where he switched uniforms and took over third base coaching duties. Ferrell flashed signs in a sarcastic tone, got into a mock argument with Addison Russell. Ferrell also flashed a series of signs that read, "Don't Pull a Muscle," "Take a Pitch," "Don't Steal," and "Remember, These Games Don't Count."
The Cubs scored four runs in the fourth, and Ferrell actually batted with two outs in the inning. With the Angels positioning all their infielders to the right side, Ferrell struck out on three pitches against Zach Stewart.
"At that moement he understood how fast the major league fastball is," Maddon quipped.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ferrell played first base but was tested while fielding warmup throws.
"Addison (Russell) threw one in the dirt, and I said, 'yes,' " third baseman Kris Bryant joked. "It was funny. I'm used to guys who can catch it over there, and I threw one very hard just to see what he would do, and (the throw) went off on him. That was funny. But he caught it."
Ferrell was lifted after one out for Mike Olt and slammed his glove in mock disgust before leaving for the Reds-Diamondbacks game at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale.
"(Ferrell) said, 'don't do this to me,' " Olt said. "I told him, 'I got to let you go. You're on your way.' "
"He said something to the umpire," Maddon deadpanned. "That attitude, I didn't want it permeating the rest of the dugout."
