The players don’t often ask Hatcher about his playing days, but they would have been wise to pick his brain this week. He played some of the best baseball of his career 23 years ago this month, helping to lead the Reds to their last World Series championship.
Cincinnati’s postseason journey in 1990 began in Pittsburgh at old Three Rivers Stadium. Hatcher and the Reds returned to the Steel City on Tuesday night, this time at PNC Park, as the Reds and Pirates played in the National League wild card playoff game. It was the first postseason game between the teams since the 1990 NL Championship Series.
“Pittsburgh probably had the best team in baseball that year,” said Hatcher, now in his seventh season as first base coach. “Everyone talks about Oakland. We figured Pittsburgh was the team to beat. We beat them, so we knew we had a very good chance against Oakland.”
Hatcher hit .333 with a home run in the NLCS and then had one of the greatest World Series performances in baseball history. He hit .750 (9-for-12) in the sweep of the A’s. He had a World Series-record seven straight hits in the first two games and reached base eight straight times. He still holds the record for highest batting average and on-base percentage (.800) in a World Series.
With all the success the Reds had in 1990, it’s easy to forget that team was 30-30 in its last 60 games and lost Game 1 of the NLCS in Pittsburgh. The current Reds went 32-28 in the last 60. The 1990 Reds won 91 games. The 2013 Reds won 90.
“We just had a team that wouldn’t be denied,” Hatcher said. “We wanted to win. When you’re willing to put the work in, good things will happen. That’s what we did. We put the work in the whole year. We knew coming toward the end we were going to have a chance.”
Hatcher said the 1990 Reds peaked at the right time. He had no doubt on Monday the Reds would be confident Tuesday even though the Pirates just swept them last weekend.
“The one thing I learned in baseball is as a major-league team, you’re going to win at least 50 games and you’re going to lose at least 50,” Hatcher said. “It’s the other 62. What can you do with that?”
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