Ferrell delivers hilarious baseball act

Will Ferrell has made an art-form of playing goofball characters - including a host of sports "stars".

Now, he's taken his act to the baseball diamond with hilarious results.

Ferrell this week hit the plate at five US matches as part of a promotion for cancer awareness, leaving fans in stitches as he directed players and delivered a series of gags.

Donning the uniforms of teams such as the Chicago Cubs, LA Dodgers and Cincinatti Reds, the comic offered some side-splitting and sage advice, holding up placards such as "Swing as hard as you can" and "Don't pull a muscle".

And like a character from one of his films, the funnyman delivered this gem as he thanked fans at a Dodgers-Padres match: "I will never forget what happened today...unless I get hit in the head by a line drive."

The matches were all part of the Major League Baseball's spring training with Ferrell's appearances filmed for a TV special on US cable channel HBO in conjunction with a website the actor co-founded, Funny or Die.