Will Ferrell's wacky spring training tour was a grand success. He accomplished his goal of playing 10 positions in one day for 10 teams across five Cactus League games and raised an estimated $1 million for charity.
Still, there were a few people out there who voiced their displeasure that a 47-year-old man with a dodgy track record in professional baseball was taking part in a number of*exhibition games.
You can count Hall of Fame football coach and longtime broadcaster John Madden among those that opposed Ferrell's stunt.
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"I hate it," Madden told KCBS 740 in San Francisco. "That's a lack of respect, that's a lack of respect for the game, I think, and a respect for what players have to do to get where they are."
If Madden had his way, Ferrell would have been shown he didn't belong on a big-league field. Madden went on to tell a story about the time NBA Hall of Famer and Golden State Warriors legend Rick Barry wanted to join one of his practices with the Raiders in the 1970s:

"I’m in training camp in Santa Rosa. Rick Barry comes walking by and he was playing for the Warriors at that time. He was a friend of Al Davis’ and he said he was going to go in and suit up and go out on the field and practice, to fool Al. I swear this is true," Madden said. "Jack Tatum and George Atkinson walked by and I said, look, if this guy comes out on the field, he’s live bait and I want you to go after him the way you would go after any other player that plays on another team. I said, go ahead and dress, but we’re going to treat you like a football player and not like an NBA player."
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Barry ultimately opted not to follow through with his idea.
Fortunately for Ferrell, the opinion of Cubs manager Joe Maddon carried much more weight*than John Madden's in this scenario. The Cubs were one of teams Ferrell suited up for on Thursday and his presence was a big hit with their players and coaches.
"It was a lot of fun, man," Maddon told CSN Chicago. "Nice play in the outfield, he was a lot of fun on the bench. I think it’s good for baseball in general to have him do something like that with his popularity."

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Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr