For Billy Hatcher and Reds, Things Have Been Perfect : Game 3: Cincinnati, with center fielder batting 1.000, takes 2-0 lead into today’s game.

There are some players, like Ernie Banks and Ralph Kiner, who wait their entire careers to get into the World Series and never do.

There are those like Gil Hodges and Dave Winfield, who do get into the World Series and play so badly they wish they’d never made it.

Then there’s Billy Hatcher.

For all the stars like Ted Williams and Mike Schmidt who slumped through a World Series, every once in a while a player comes right out of left field--or center, in this case--and becomes a Hall of Famer for a week.

Al Weis did it with the Miracle Mets in 1969. Gene Tenace did it for Oakland in 1972. Brian Doyle did it for the New York Yankees in 1978.

But if those players were hot, Hatcher is Reds hot. In his first World Series, Hatcher is off to the best start in history.

Going into today’s Game 3, Hatcher is seven for seven with four doubles, a triple and two walks. In the Reds’ two wins over Oakland, he has scored five runs, driven in two, and his 1.000 batting and on-base averages are exceeded only by his 1.857 slugging percentage.

Hatcher’s two doubles, triple and bunt single Wednesday night gave him the World Series record for most consecutive hits. Goose Goslin for Washington in 1924 and Thurman Munson with the Yankees in 1976 each had six.

“The guys were just telling me in the clubhouse,” Hatcher said after the Reds had beat Oakland, 5-4, in 10 innings. “I don’t really care about records. I just want a ring.”

Hatcher also tied Lou Brock’s record for most extra-base hits in consecutive games and matched the mark last accomplished by Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers for most hits in two straight games.

“He’s done just about everything a player can do,” Reds Manager Lou Piniella said. “He’s played well defensively, he’s running the bases aggressively and he’s putting some wood on the ball.

“He had postseason experience with Houston and he’s done a good job for us all year.” Before this Series began, Hatcher was perhaps best known for a home run he hit with Astros in the 1986 National League playoffs. That was in the 14th inning, but Houston lost to the Mets in the 16th in the longest postseason game in history.

Hatcher, 30 earlier this month, batted .333 in those playoffs for the Astros. He was traded to Pittsburgh during the 1989 season and was sent to the Reds less than a week before this year’s opener for two minor leaguers.

When Hatcher arrived, the Reds planned to platoon him in left field. But when Eric Davis got injured, Hatcher took over full-time in center and stayed there, though Herm Winningham started occasionally.

Hatcher batted .276 with 28 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 25 RBIs in 504 at-bats this year. He also stole 30 bases. Good, but nothing compared to this.

“I once had a streak where I was 13 for 15, but not in a World Series,” he said. “Things are just happening for me right now.

“I had a situation where Barry Larkin was on second base in the first inning and my main objective was to hit the ball to the right side to get him over to third base. It just so happened that the ball got down the line and it was a base hit. Another time I came up and saw Carney Lansford playing back, so I tried to bunt and got it down.”

The only place things haven’t gone his way has been on the bases. He was picked off first by Bob Welch in the fifth Wednesday and made a mental error in the eighth that could have been costly.

The Reds trailed, 4-3, when Hatcher led off with a slice to right field that tipped Jose Canseco’s glove and went for a triple. After a walk, Eric Davis hit a fly ball to medium right that Canseco caught, but Hatcher stayed at third instead of tagging up. Canseco’s throw was way up the third-base line and Hatcher would have scored easily.

“I know Canseco has a strong arm, but I made a mistake because the ball was toward center field and he would have had a tough throw,” Hatcher said. “I should have scored. He made a bad throw and I gave him too much credit.”

Piniella agreed.

“With Canseco’s back bothering him, our scouting reports said that we could take a few more liberties running on him,” he said.

As it was, Hatcher wound up scoring the tying run on Glenn Braggs’ force-out.

Oakland Manager Tony La Russa, after seeing Hatcher do the things Rickey Henderson usually does for the Athletics, said Hatcher never should have been in position to score the tying run.

“It’s a play that if you want to win the game, you have to make,” he said. “I don’t think (Canseco) got a very good jump.”