On the Road: Bill Murray appears in Charleston

"This is a really exciting first for me, maybe. I don't know. I'm going to treat it like that."
That was Bill Murray's reaction to being interviewed, for (probably) the first time, by MiLB.com. Yes, that Bill Murray. The Bill Murray, even. The legendary comedic actor was in attendance at this past Saturday's Charleston RiverDogs game, and this isn't exactly a rare occurrence. Murray, who owns a home in Charleston, is a RiverDogs co-owner and serves as the Class A Yankee affiliate's "Director of Fun." He holds these titles with the other three teams in the Goldklang Group's portfolio as well: the Hudson Valley Renegades, independent St. Paul Saints and summer collegiate Pittsfield Suns.

Murray's a lifelong baseball fan, and his affinity for his hometown Chicago Cubs has been well-documented. His Minor League roots are deep as well, going back to when he played for the Grays Harbor Loggers in 1978. Murray's stint with this Washington State-based independent club was ostensibly a bit for a Saturday Night Live special detailing how members of the cast spent their summer vacation.

"I was a player in Gray's Harbor, Washington, but in Salt Lake we had a team that set the professional baseball record of 29 wins in a row," said Murray, who owned a stake in that famed 1987 Salt Lake Trappers team. "My friend Van Schley is the one who dragged me into it. And along the way we've made some great friends, including Marv Goldklang and [Goldklang Group executive advisor] Mike Veeck.
"It was always about having fun," he continued. "In the beginning Van was just a supporter of Minor League Baseball. He used to lose money every year doing it. And then when Major League Baseball had its problems, with strikes and collusion and things like that, people sort of moved to Minor League Baseball as, I don't want to say a purer version, but something they felt a little more comfortable around. It didn't have the baggage, and then it became a real business. So we've kept at it for a very long time, but we've had a lot of fun doing it. We've had some great stories, great episodes and great adventures."
Murray's most recent visit with the RiverDogs will, hopefully, result in more great episodes. He said he's currently working on a baseball-themed sketch comedy project with his brother, actor Brian Doyle Murray. (Brian was also in attendance at Saturday's game, along with Eastbound and Down's Danny McBride.)  
"My brother Brian and I are trying to be funny. We're trying to see if we can be funny. We're working really hard on it, too," he said. "We've gone to a couple of our [Goldklang Group] ballparks, we went to Martha's Vineyard, we're going to go to Kansas City and meet up with our St. Paul Saints team. We're just doing some funny sketch comedy about baseball -- in and around baseball. We'll see how funny we are. I have a lot of confidence, but it is summer vacation. It's hard to make yourself come back to work. You know, those first couple days of school are always rusty."
2017 Road Trip
This particular interview with Murray -- which also included his apocalyptic musings on the solar eclipse -- was taking place at a picnic table on the upper-level ballpark concourse. The RiverDogs had just put the finishing touches on a shutout victory over the Augusta GreenJackets, and Murray soon became distracted by the postgame entertainment.
"Oh, wait! We have a helicopter landing over the field now, to drop 5,000 balls!"
In any other context, this would be an exceedingly bizarre occurrence. But in the world of the Minor Leagues, it was just another Saturday night. A helicopter did indeed drop 5,000 bouncy balls onto the field, resulting in a momentarily chaotic visual landscape. Three plastic tubs were placed on the infield, with each tub representing a section of the ballpark; the tub that ended up with the most balls in it would result in a prize for fans seated in that section.
"These winners, they're gonna win something," said Murray. "It could be gold bars. It could be candy bars. I don't know yet. It's the Roman Coliseum all over again. Look at [the fans]. They're delirious. Their joy is immeasurable. We live in an era where people will kill for a T-shirt, fired by a slingshot."
To Murray, this bit of bizarre postgame aerial entertainment summed up the continuing appeal of Minor League Baseball.  
"There may be a more efficient way, but there may not be a sillier way. That's a shaggy story. That's a long ways to go to have a little fun."