BLISSFUL IGNORANCE; VAUGHN PREFERS NOT KNOWING HIS FLASHY STATS.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

Unwary teammates occasionally approach Greg Vaughn in the clubhouse, bearing a list of National League batting leaders, marveling along with everyone else at Vaughn's multiple entries on it. The players are not received hospitably.

``I tell them to take them and burn them up,'' the San Diego Padres' left fielder said over the weekend. ``I hate them (statistics sheets) in the clubhouse. I see somebody reading them and I say, `Put that (stuff) down! You know whether you're doing good or not.' ''

Vaughn, who will carry a potent bat into a two-game series with the Dodgers that begins tonight at Qualcomm Stadium, would rather be oblivious to the reality that he began Monday's off day ranked third in the league in home runs (22), fifth in RBI (57), second in extra-base hits (38) and fifth in slugging percentage (.620).

The policy of calculated ignorance has deep roots.

In 1990, Vaughn was in his first full season in the major leagues, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, and Don Baylor was his hitting coach.

``He told me something I've always lived by,'' Vaughn said. ``He said, `Why look at it every day when tomorrow's going to be different?' I know whether I'm swinging good or not. I don't need to look at no stats.''

Just keep plugging away - whether in a slump or on a tear.

It would prove to be a brief but fortuitous association for Vaughn. Little did he know at the time that his career would go on to have an uncanny parallel with Baylor's.

It was in 1977 that Baylor joined the Angels as one of the first big-money free agents, and the expectations were overwhelming. He strained so hard to make a positive first impression that his first season with the Angels was a major disappointment - and he was an easy target of fan abuse. Baylor kept his chin up and his bat cocked, though, and two years later he won the American League Most Valuable Player award.

Today, the pupil nods knowingly.

San Diego acquired Vaughn in a trade midway through the '96 season, and everyone anticipated the barrage of home runs he would hit just as he'd produced in Milwaukee. But over the course of a season and a half, the batting average eroded, the playing opportunities diminished, and the fans' discontent was fully vented.

Not until this season did Vaughn's bat begin to come around - and actually connect with something. Now he's the offensive cornerstone of a first-place team.

``He's a team leader for what he went through last year,'' said third baseman Ken Caminiti. ``He kept pulling for his teammates. He didn't put his head between his legs. He came back.''

Just in time for these Padres, who tried in exasperation to trade Vaughn to the New York Yankees last summer. (The deal was voided when Vaughn's shoulder was declared unsound.)

Vaughn already has four more home runs than he managed all of last year, while his RBI total is equal to '97. His batting average of .273 is 60 points higher than the figure he put up in his first 1-1/2 seasons with the Padres. And he homered at least once in 12 consecutive series until San Francisco kept him in the park over the weekend.

``We've had a lot of injuries,'' said manager Bruce Bochy, ``and he's been a constant.''

Vaughn might respond that the most significant constant has been his playing time. He came over from the Brewers expecting to be San Diego's everyday left fielder in '96, but his slow start with the Padres and the leadoff spark that veteran Rickey Henderson was bringing to a pennant race conspired to limit Vaughn to part-time duty.

``It was to the point,'' said Bochy, ``where you went with the hot hand.''

Not until San Diego traded Henderson to the Angels last Aug. 13 did Vaughn finally start to get regular playing time. He found his stroke almost immediately, even though it seemed to take the fans a while to notice.

``It was definitely Six Flags in my house last year,'' Vaughn said. ``It was a roller-coaster ride from hell, if you can say that in the paper.

``But I have a great wife (Michele) and two great kids (Cory, 8; Genay, 4) that stuck by me and made it all right once I left for the ballpark.''

He paused to reflect on the boos that cascaded down on him through so many home at-bats. ``People are going to be the way they are,'' Vaughn said softly. ``I guess they don't have anything better to do than to come out and take it out on me.''

A laugh. ``But now, everybody I see says, `Oh, we were always behind you.' Dang, if these people were behind me, I wouldn't have had one boo last year. I take it with a grain of salt.''

Vaughn says that the infrequent playing opportunities and his yearning to impress in a new environment produced a volatile mix.

When he'd finally see his name on the lineup card, Vaughn said, ``I'd think, `This has got to be my week right here.' . . . You go out there, you get one at-bat, you try to get four hits. You try to drive in four guys with one swing. I didn't know how to handle it.''

In time, he learned, and now he handles prosperity the same way. Thanks to Baylor. Thanks to bumpy experience.

``I don't care if you're 0 for 4 or 4 for 4,'' Vaughn said, ``you've got to be like a defensive back: You've got to forget it. There's work to be done the next day.''

As for the daily chronicle found in columns of little gray numbers, he'd rather you not trouble him.

BREAKING THROUGH

Greg Vaughn joined the San Diego Padres on July 31, 1996. After a year and a half of sluggish performance, he finally is beginning to live up to expectations. His numbers with the Padres:

Yr.Games Avg. HR RBI SO

1996 43 .206 10 22 31

1997 120 .216 18 57 110

1998 68 .273 22 57 40

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1) Padres star Greg Vaughn is among the National League leaders in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits and slugging percentage.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

(2--Color) VAUGHN

BOX: BREAKING THROUGH (see text)