Being Down 2-0 Is a Little Thing to Mike Gallego : Athletics: He passed up gangs, overcame size and cancer to make it in the majors.

The World Series makes heroes of Billy Hatcher, Billy Bates and Joe Oliver, whose exploits have helped give the Cincinnati Reds a 2-0 lead.

For the Oakland Athletics, the hero may yet be Mike Gallego, who almost had his moment in the third inning of Game 2 when he singled home a run that was the difference until the Reds tied it in the eighth and won, 5-4, in the 10th. One thing is certain: Gallego is not going to be intimidated by an 0-2 deficit or a Series starting assignment.

Not considering that he:

--Resisted gang overtures while growing up in Pico Rivera.

--Overcame a widespread belief that at 5-feet-8--or is it really 5-6?--he was too small to play professionally or even collegiately.

--Successfully battled testicular cancer in the spring of 1983, when his career was beginning to blossom as a triple-A infielder in the Athletics’ system.

Now, replacing injured Walt Weiss at shortstop, Gallego laughs when the subject of pressure comes up.

“Pressure? This isn’t pressure, this is fun,” he said. “Pressure is sitting in a hospital room, waiting to hear if the tumor is malignant or not.

“I mean, sitting there and hearing you have cancer is reason to be scared to death. I’m human. I wanted to scream, ‘Why me?’

“I didn’t think I had done anything to deserve it and I was looking at it selfishly. I went through all the different emotions and finally reached a point where I could deal with it and try not to let it beat me.

“Believe me, I wasn’t thinking about a World Series or even playing baseball again. I was thinking about wanting to live. I’m very proud of what I’ve overcome.”

The cancer was discovered during a routine physical examination. Gallego had surgery and four months of radiation before returning to baseball. He has been considered cancer-free since, but has a chest X-ray and a blood test each year, at which time some of the old trepidation briefly returns, a reminder to keep his priorities in order.

He and his wife, Caryn, have a new home in Yorba Linda and twin boys, with a third child on the way.

“There was a period when I’d bring my job home,” he said. “I’d go hitless or make an error and that’s all I could think about. Now I come home to enjoy my wife and boys. That’s where the priority should be, what we live for.

“I got through a tough time and don’t mind talking about it because I know people tend to think celebrities are immune to the same things that everyone goes through. If I can be an inspiration, that’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

There are other aspects of Gallego’s inspirational story. He gets cards and letters from parents who have been told their children are too small to play sports.

“I’ve always tried to turn negatives to positives,” Gallego said. “I’m short, so what? There are a lot uglier guys out there.”

Gallego’s life could have taken an ugly turn if he hadn’t had an interest in sports and the strength to resist the gangs of his neighborhood.

“They were always trying to recruit me, but I didn’t smoke in junior high school, so I could outrun them,” Gallego said, nonchalantly dismissing the risk. “Besides, I wasn’t really the gang type. I was a Levi’s, T-shirt and tennis shoes type.”

He was also a multisport star at St. Paul High, but Jess Flores of the Minnesota Twins was the first scout to tell him that he needed to play at a major college to convince scouts he had the size and talent to handle the pros.

The only problem was that there were no college offers until Gary Adams, the UCLA coach “who is about the same size as I am and could probably relate to my situation,” offered a scholarship.

“I had written to Jim Brock, the Arizona State coach, but he wrote back that I was too small and didn’t hit enough homers,” Gallego said. “Well, in my first Pac-10 game at UCLA I beat ASU with a home run. I felt pretty good about that.”

Gallego said he got what he wanted from UCLA: Three years of experience and the opportunity to prove that heart and talent could compensate for size. The A’s selected Gallego in the second round of the June 1981 draft.

“I was always able to beat the big guys, no matter what sport it was,” Gallego said. “I was never frustrated by it, but used it to push me. I can take a shot and give it. It goes back to using a negative as a positive.

“Look at it this way: I’ve got a small strike zone, which is an advantage, and if you ask any infielder what the key to fielding ground balls is, it’s staying low to the ground. I’m already there.”

In Game 4 of the American League playoffs, batting just after the ejection of Boston pitcher Roger Clemens, Gallego took a borderline pitch that umpire Terry Cooney said was low and called a ball, angering Red Sox catcher Tony Pena.

“Pena said, ‘What do you mean, low? This guy is only 5-3. How could it be low?’ ” Gallego recalled. “I laughed and said, ‘What do you mean, 5-3? I’m 5-4. Those pitches were definitely low.’ ”

That was the at-bat in which Gallego ultimately drilled a two-run double off Tom Bolton, leading to a 3-1 victory and the sweep of the Red Sox, a rare moment in the offensive spotlight for the good-fielding, suspect-hitting infielder who batted .206 in 140 games and has a career average of .235.

Basically a second baseman, Gallego became a role player again when the A’s traded for Willie Randolph. At 30, he hasn’t given up on the idea of playing second base full time.

“That’s what keeps the fire burning,” he said. “I’ll never be content being a role player. My goal is to be an everyday second baseman, to leave the impression that I can play defense and hit in pressure situations.

“I’m a lot more comfortable at shortstop than I was two or three years ago, but I can’t go out there and be a Walt Weiss or Barry Larkin because I don’t consider myself a major league shortstop. I can do the job there, but I don’t have the strength to play there every day.”

Gallego, of course, was upset by the acquisition of Randolph, knowing it would cut into his playing time.

“I always respected him as one of the best second basemen in baseball and told him that on our first flight together,” Gallego said. “I told him I was going to watch him, learn from him and take his job. He said, ‘Fine, go for it.’

“I’ve never been afraid of competition, and now here we are, playing side by side in a World Series.”

And he is starting in this World Series against the team that was his boyhood favorite because of Pete Rose, whose “hustling and aggressive style” served as a model for Gallego, whose own life and career have become a model for many.