Thursday, October 28, 1999
Yankees sweep into history
New York claims Team of the '90s with second straight Series KO
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW YORK — With one out left in the ninth inning, the toilet-paper streamers rained from Yankee Stadium's upper deck, along with confetti. Everybody stood.
They knew the New York Yankees' triumph was inevitable. It was almost more of a coronation than a competition, an inevitable ascent that proved historic without being eventful.
The Yankees strengthened their grip on baseball royalty Wednesday night, defeating the Atlanta Braves 4-1 to complete a four-game sweep in the 95th World Series.
Having achieved excellence with 125 victories last year, the Yankees crossed the threshold into greatness by becoming only the third team to sweep back-to-back Series. The others were their regal forebears, the Yankees of 1927-28 and 1938-39.
New York sustained its success while being led by Joe Torre, a manager who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in spring training, and while finishing the season with three players on the field — second baseman Luis Sojo, third baseman Scott Brosius and right fielder Paul O'Neill — still grieving over the recent deaths of their fathers.
“There's no question this ballclub is very, very special,” Torre said.
Moreover, New York sealed its third world title in four years and the 25th championship of its matchless exist ence. The Yankees also earned the unofficial designation as baseball's Team of the Decade.
The Braves could have won that honor in their fifth Series appearance since 1991. Instead, they face the gnawing knowledge that they led two of the first three games entering the eighth inning.
Yet they felt no shame.
“They could have been knocked out in the first round like anybody else,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said of the Yankees. “It's amazing to me. Even with the great ballclub, things can go wrong and breaks can go against you.”
This won't be remembered as a classic Series. When its highlight video is released, it might very well last 15 minutes instead of the usual hour. Chad Curtis' 10th-inning home run in Game 3 was the most compelling moment in a quartet of games that rarely featured drama.
But the winners performed with supreme precision, power and pitching.
“We played every game like it was the last game of the season,” shortstop Derek Jeter said.
The Yankees thrived in Game 4 behind Roger Clemens, who limited Atlanta to four hits in 7ö innings.
This was not the dominating Clemens who twice struck out 20 batters in a game or won five Cy Young Awards. But nor was this the helpless Clemens who allowed five runs and six hits in two innings in his last start, Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Boston on Oct. 16. The right-hander struck out only four while recording 17 outs on ground balls.
He had plenty of help. Jeter and Brosius provided slick defense. New York capitalized on Atlanta starter John Smoltz's lone lapse to score three runs in the third inning. Smoltz pitched gamely, striking out 11 in seven innings. But four of the six hits he yielded came in the crucial third.
New York accented its effort with the symbol of 1990s baseball, the home run, as Turpin High School's Jim Leyritz socked a pinch-hit blast off Terry Mulholland in the eighth inning to close the scoring.
Protecting a 3-0 lead, Clemens might have finished the game were it not for Walt Weiss' two-out chopper in the eighth inning between the pitcher's mound and first base. That forced Clemens to cover first, where Weiss stepped on his right ankle while crossing the bag. Clemens then surrendered Gerald Williams' single and left to thunderous applause from the throng of 56,752.
“He seemed to get out of whack a little bit,” Torre said of Clemens.
Reliever Jeff Nelson forged ahead on the count against Boone, 1-2, but the former Red bounced a single into center field to score Weiss and send Williams to third base.
On came Yankees relief ace Mariano Rivera to face Chipper Jones, the National League's likely Most Valuable Player who represented the potential go-ahead run. After rocketing a 1-2 pitch foul down the right-field line, Jones grounded out to second base.
Rivera, unscored upon since July 21, extended his streak of consecutive shutout innings to 43 by pitching a perfect ninth for his second Series save. He was named the Series' MVP, but all his teammates felt honored.
“I finally know what it feels like to be a Yankee,” Clemens said.
That is, a winner.
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