Will Ferrell at Spring Training

Here are three things that may initially sound like they have nothing to do with each other, but at least for a day were all very much connected: Will Ferrell, MLB Spring Training, Stand Up to Cancer. Let me explain.

An article from nesn.com introduced this very well: “Will Ferrell did something that hasn’t been done in a long time…: He generated interest in spring training baseball. The world-famous actor took to the diamond with the hopes of playing all nine positions across five different Cactus League games, all in order to help raise awareness for Stand Up to Cancer and Cancer for College.”

And with all of the coverage that this received, he certainly achieved his goal. This whole thing was really great all around. First, Ferrell has always seemed like one of those genuinely nice, just plain old naturally funny guys. Rather than seeming like a publicity stunt for himself, it really seems he was using the publicity he naturally get all the time, and directing it to a worthy cause. It’s also great that these MLB teams agreed to host something like this — not that the games count toward their records anyway.

Stand Up to Cancer is a charitable organization that is part of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a non-profit that funds over 300 charitable organizations each year throughout the United States. It is focused on raising funds for cancer research. Since its inception in May of 2008, it has raised over $260 million for this cause.