COLLINS BRINGS ROCK 'N ROLL TO LOCAL SLOW-PITCH TEAM.

Byline: Nevin Barich Daily News Staff Writer

Chris Collins never took the game of softball seriously.

A third baseman and outfielder for the Wild Bunch, a coed softball team in the Oak Park Summer Slow Pitch Softball League, Collins takes a light step to the game. He never loses sleep when he strikes out, which isn't too often, and he never kicks himself when he makes an error.

No, softball never played a major role in Collins' life. Which is scary considering that his performance is that of a man obsessed with the game.

After a slow start this season, Collins has taken off in the leadoff spot at the plate, leading his team with a batting average of around .700 and guiding the Wild Bunch to a 5-0 record thus far.

While pro ballplayers would kill to have the batting average that Collins has put up this season, it's minor-league stuff compared to what he did last year. He batted 1.000 in 40 at-bats throughout all of 1997 to lead the Wild Bunch to a championship appearance.

``I try not to go crazy with it,'' said Collins, a 42-year-old from Agoura Hills who has been playing in the league since 1994. ``I do like to win, but I just try not to take it too seriously. There are guys that go out there and take it too seriously. They put pressure on themselves. They get into that - how do I say it? - that killer attitude. I don't like it. It gives the game an unfriendly mode. It takes the fun out of it.''

While Collins might not go crazy to succeed on the field, an argument could be made that he does the opposite off the diamond. He's a regular at the batting cage, practicing at least once a week.

``When you want to be good at something . . . it's just the difference that it makes,'' said Collins, a 1973 graduate of Cleveland High in Reseda, about the extra practice. ``I work hard at the things that I enjoy.''

Concentrating on little league baseball and high school tennis in his youth, Collins said he hadn't played softball in years, and never on a regular basis, when he received a phone call one day four years ago from his current coach, Alan Yahr.

Yahr, who has known Collins since he was five years old when he was a noon duty aid at Collins' elementary school, asked Collins if he would play on his softball team. Collins ``thought about it for about two seconds'' and agreed, thinking he could use the exercise and that it might be fun.

``Chris practices a lot, and he discipline himself a lot,'' said Yahr, who led the Wild Bunch to three straight championships from 1994-96 and might have made it four in a row last year had his team not had to forfeit due to lack of players. ``He's showed he could hit the ball and get on base.''

Collins currently works for Cinerep Amps, a building materials company that delivers temporary power generators to such sites as music concerts and the sets to several major motion pictures, including Face Off and City of Angels.

Before that, Collins had been a drummer for several hard rock bands. He was even a second runner-up to replace Peter Criss, the drummer from the world-renowned rock band KISS, in the early 80's.

But while Collins is busy with his work and is considering a return to music, he insists he'll keep playing softball and is even looking for ways to play more than once a week.

``I'm just having too much fun right now,'' Collins said. ``Wednesday nights (when the softball games are played) are always something to look forward to.''