Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan: Bait for George Clooney

Access Hollywood reveals that Ellen DeGeneres enlisted the help of former Cincinnati Reds Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan to persuade George Clooney to appear on her show.

A long-time baseball enthusiast, Clooney once played for his high school varsity team in Augusta, Kentucky.  In 1977, the 16-year-old centerfielder made the 43-mile trip to Cincinnati to try out for the Reds, at least once (and maybe twice).

In an interview with Parade, the actor described the experience:

“I was good at a lot of sports,” he recalled. “I even tried out for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. I’d been in a world where I was the best around, and then I went into a camp where all the best around met, and I was nowhere as good as those guys. They threw rockets. When I realized I was never going to be those guys, I could walk away because I’d at least given it a run.”

In February 2008, Clooney was given a chance to suit up for the minor league Dayton Dragons during an interview on AMC’s cable entertainment show “Shootout.”  Show producer Peter Guber, who also owns the ball club, tossed Clooney a team cap and said, “We’re ready to sign you up, anytime you’re ready.”

The Academy Award winner owns the movie rights for the book “The Catcher Was a Spy: the Moe Berg Story.”  The film has yet to be produced.