It's no act; Murray truly loves the game

Brockton Rox part owner and director of fun Bill Murray picked up his 2003 Northeast League championship ring Thursday night before a game against the Quebec Les Capitales at Campanelli Stadium. He signed hundreds of autographs, visited both dugouts during the game, warned the hometown Brockton girls about Quebec boys, and even allowed a fan to kiss his ring as if he were the pope. The baseball-crazed Academy Award nominee also had a chat with the Globe.

Q. According to the Baseball Encyclopedia, Bill Murray played for the Washington Senators in 1917. He hit .143 with no home runs and four RBIs in eight games. What went wrong that year, Bill?

A. It was a war year. That was the big problem. It was the Russian Revolution. I had family on all fronts. In Russia and in Europe. My fan mail every day was very disturbing. Grisly pictures from the front. It was hard to concentrate.

Q. You are listed as director of fun, what does that mean?

A. It means I have a portfolio. It means that if I'm arrested I'm to be taken to an embassy someplace. Like in a fun place. Monte Carlo or someplace where they have crimes of passion. I think then I have a chance of getting off.

Q. Grady Little Bobblehead Night was canceled but there's 1,000 of them stored somewhere. What should be done with them?

A. I haven't really thought about it. I think we should do something good. I think Grady should be asked about it. My first thought, and it's not a very good one, is that there should be a Grady Little Bobblehead Domino Night. You could start off with a design of 1,000 of them and get them all rolling and knock 'em all down. But I haven't thought about it more than that.

Q. We hear you got thrown out of Little League as a kid. What happened?

A. Well, I got into a beef. It was a beef with the catcher that played on the Legion Post team, and I played on the Lions Club team. There was catcher interference and the kid said it was and the umpire said, `Did his glove hit your bat,' and he said, `Yes, it did.' So after the game I confronted him. I put him up against the wall, yelled at him, but didn't hit him. I got tossed. I was reinstated and I hit a home run in my first at-bat.

Q. You're a huge Cubs fan. Do you believe in the Billy Goat Curse?

A. No, the curse was lifted. They lifted the curse. There was a curse in 1945 [when William "Billy Goat" Sianis was not allowed to bring his pet goat, Murphy, into Game 4 of the World Series even though the goat had a ticket. Sianis then cast a "goat curse" and the Cubs lost that series and haven't returned to the World Series since]. And I believed in it. The curse was lifted in 1969 when "Billy Goat" Sianis and Sam Sianis brought a goat back to Wrigley Field and it was OK. And there's never been a problem bringing a goat in ever since.

Q. What about the Curse of the Bambino?

A. Oh, I believe in that, I think that's for sure. I mean, when you turn away an orphan I think you deserve whatever comes to you.

Q. Whom do you think has suffered more, the fans in Boston or the ones in Chicago?

A. I think Boston fans because they live in Boston. I've been to Boston and I've been to Chicago and I think people in Boston have just got to be suffering a hell of a lot more. You've got to go to Chicago sometime, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Q. Sammy Sosa said he didn't know he was using a corked bat in a game and President Bush said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Who, if anyone, is telling the truth?

A. Once again, I have to come down on the Chicago side of the street. I mean, Bush is affiliated with the Texas Rangers, you know . . .

Q. And Sammy's story about pulling a muscle sneezing, what would Osmosis Jones say?

A. You can definitely pull a muscle sneezing. I've pulled muscles sneezing. It's just that my muscles aren't as big as Sammy's, so there's not as much impact.

Q. This year Manny Ramirez is finally talking to the media. What advice would you give him in dealing with the media?

A. Just have fun. He's a baseball player, just have fun. He's always been a great player. If he's going to grant interviews he damn well ought to win because they are a whole lot easier to do when you win than when you lose. I'm sure he knows that without me telling him.

Q. You were an Oscar finalist for "Lost in Translation" but lost to Sean Penn for "Mystic River." Will it bother you to cross the Mystic River Bridge?

A. You know, I haven't seen the movie, so it won't bother me at all.

Q. If you could be any sports figure in the world, whom would you choose?

A. Well, I always had a thing for [1960 Olympic gold medal figure skater] Carol Heiss. (Her acting career was limited to one movie, "Snow White and the Three Stooges.") I just thought she was kind of special. Yeah, just off the top of my head, Carol Heiss.

Q. What's harder to do, hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball or hit a golf ball into a little hole 300 yards away?

A. I think it's harder to hit a ball into a hole 300 yards away. You could hit a 95-m.p.h. fastball. I could, I mean it would take me a little while, but I could get to it. You know, 300 yards is a long ways, and the odds of a hole-in-one on a par 3 are 13,000-1, so . . .

Q. Why is this team called the Rox? What does that mean?

A. Well, it means different things to different people. You know, what did the rock say to the chipmunk? Don't tread on me. That's the motto.

Q. How does it feel to get a championship ring?

A. It's very slimming and it goes with everything. It is the ultimate punctuation.