Will Ferrell's Minor League Career As Short-Lived as Land of the Lost Remake

Once upon a time, Will Ferrell was the kind of the sports comedy, but who needs a $40 million budget and a greenlight from stingy old Paramount to get started anymore? Instead, Ferrell took to the to the actual minor leagues yesterday night to debut his new creation, minor league pitcher Rojo Johnson.

Said MLB.com:

Ferrell, who has played comic sports figures in the movies "Talladega Nights," "Blades of Glory" and "Semi-Pro," was in the Round Rock area to promote The Will Powered Golf Classic on Friday at Cimmaron Hills Country Club, benefiting College for Cancer, an organization that provides scholarships to cancer survivors.

"This opportunity just came out of nowhere," Ferrell said later Friday afternoon. "We were coming to town to promote our first Texas fundraiser when (Express CEO) Reid Ryan from the Express reached out to us with this great idea for promoting the event, and 'Rojo' was born. The Ryan family and the entire staff with the Express were just awesome. I had a blast out there, and I especially enjoyed the camaraderie of my new teammates. We will be houseboating together this weekend."

During the week, Ryan -- Nolan Ryan's son -- made the following announcement on the team's web site:

"The Round Rock Express have acquired Billy Ray "Rojo" Johnson. The right-handed pitcher will be in uniform for Thursday's 7:05 p.m. CDT game against the Nashville Sounds.

"Johnson, who was born in East Texas but was raised in Venezuela, recently had his prison sentence commuted. He served time for running a smuggling ring that imported rare and illegal species of reptiles into the United States from South America during the mid-to-late 1990s. Thursday night's game marks Johnson's first in American professional baseball after a storied career in the Venezuelan leagues."

Here you go, Paramount! Less expensive than Anchorman 2, they promise:

Well This Is Something You Don't See Every Day of the Day [The Daily What]

Will Ferrell pitches, entertains in Round Rock [MLB]