PEORIA, Ariz. — In March 2005, Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci embedded himself in the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring camp for the entertainment and enlightenment of his readers. On his fifth day, Verducci got a uniform and and a position and a turn at-bat in an intrasquad game. You can read the story Verducci wrote here.

Yesterday, actor/comedian Will Ferrell took part in five different games in one day for the entertainment of HBO viewers. At some point MLB will auction Ferrell’s game-worn memorabilia on its website, with proceeds going to benefit cancer research. You can read all about Ferrell’s adventure with the Dodgers here.

One man had a front-row seat to both events: Dodgers pitcher Chad Gaudin.

It was Gaudin, then 21 years old, who was on the mound for the most memorable at-bat of Verducci’s career.

“I was trying to make the team,” Gaudin recalled. “I was in game mode. I didn’t know who I was facing. I was going to get him out, or I was going to try. I’d just gotten traded over there. I was trying to impress these guys. I threw him a fastball and two sliders. I didn’t give him a chance.

“I don’t remember what he did, whether he struck out or not. I remember after the fact finding out who he was and what he was doing. I felt like such an idiot.”

Gaudin got ahead 0-2, then got Verducci to pop out to first base. Gaudin got the last laugh: He’s still pitching in the major leagues, while Verducci is still a sports writer.

Ferrell pitched to one Padres batter in the top of the seventh inning Thursday, Rico Noel, and retired him on a bunt groundout back to the mound. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly promptly removed Ferrell from the game as the crowd booed. HBO’s film crew followed Ferrell as he jogged into the visitors’ dugout and mingled with some of the Dodger players — but not Gaudin.

Gaudin was scheduled to pitch the ninth inning, so he was in the bullpen beginning to get loose.

“I got to see (Ferrell) from afar,” Gaudin said. “I wish I had gotten to meet him. He’s one of my favorite actors. He’s really funny.”

Pitching with a 1-0 lead in the ninth, Gaudin struck out two of the three batters he faced. It was good enough to earn a meaningless save, and marked a slight improvement over his performance in a even more meaningless intrasquad game 10 years ago.

This all amounts nothing more than a happy coincidence, but it’ll make a cool story that Gaudin can tell beyond today.