Yanks take World Series

The New York Yankees defeated the San Diego Padres in four straight games to take its 24th title. The Associated Press SAN DIEGO -- How appropriate -- a sweep. What else could it be for a New York Yankees team that is surely one of the greatest in baseball history. Andy Pettitte and the Yankees put the finishing touch on their most dominant season by beating the San Diego Padres 3-0 last night for a record 24th World Series championship. It was New York's second title in three years and its first sweep since 1950. The Game 4 victory gave the Yankees 125 wins -- a total that ranks right up there with all the other big numbers put up in baseball this year. Their 114 regular-season victories were the most ever for a champion. And it was a tribute to a team vastly different from all those other pinstriped winners. Without a Ruth, DiMaggio or Mantle among them -- no certain Hall of Famers and no one even elected to start in the All-Star game this season -- these Yankees posted a .714 winning percentage, the best in the majors since their Murderers' Row club of 1927. Pettitte shut out San Diego into the eighth inning while the Yankees hitters did just enough to bring down ace Kevin Brown. Bernie Williams, perhaps playing his last game for New York, broke a scoreless tie with an RBI chopper in the sixth. In the seventh, Series MVP Scott Brosius singled home a run and surprising rookie Ricky Ledee hit a sacrifice fly. The Padres tried to rally in the eighth, when Tony Gwynn's eighth hit of the Series finished Pettitte. A single by Ken Caminiti off Mariano Rivera loaded the bases with two outs, but Jim Leyritz, a postseason hero in the past for the Yankees and San Diego, flied out to Williams. The sweep was the first since Cincinnati upset Oakland in 1990, and was the Yankees' seventh. Also, New York won its eighth straight Series game while the Padres lost their seventh in a row. For a team that led the AL in pitching and scoring, it was a complete performance that produced its seventh straight win in this postseason. Plus, perhaps the Yankees had something else going for them -- inspiration from slugger Darryl Strawberry, out because of colon cancer. All the Yankees had his No. 39 embroidered on their caps. Pettitte won just six days after his father underwent heart bypass surgery, allowing five hits in 7 1-3 innings. It was reminiscent of his performance in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, when he beat Atlanta 1-0. Brown, who could not hold a three-run lead in the seventh inning of Game 1, took the loss. Rivera closed out his spectacular postseason, getting the last four outs for his third save of the Series. Including the playoff wins over Texas and Cleveland, he pitched 13 1-3 scoreless innings and recorded six saves. Pettitte and Brown dueled evenly into the sixth, when the Yankees moved ahead by the slightest of margins. Derek Jeter singled with one out and slumping Paul O'Neill doubled. Williams, the AL batting champion, hit a chopper in front of the mound that Brown barehanded. But Jeter quickly broke for home and Brown saw he had no play, getting the out at first. Jeter took no chances, sliding home and toppling Padres catcher Carlos Hernandez. Williams finished 1-for-16 in the Series. He's eligible for free agency, and there's been talk that he might leave for Arizona, Colorado or another club and a salary of more than $10 million a season. In the eighth, Jeter led off with a walk and O'Neill reached on an infield single. Both moved up on Williams' groundout and Brown intentionally walked Tino Martinez to load the bases. That brought up Brosius, acquired in the winter after hitting just .203 last year for Oakland. The hero of Game 4 with two homers, he hit an RBI single. Brosius went 8-for-17 in the series with six RBIs. Ledee followed with a sacrifice fly. He finished 6-for-10 in three starts. Brosius and Ledee provided the last of several highlights for the Yankees this year, a season that included David Wells' perfect game and the debut of Orlando ''El Duque'' Hernandez. Brown retired the first 10 batters in order with 96 mph fastballs and 94 mph sinkers, and breezed before running into trouble in the fifth. A single by Martinez and a double by rookie Ricky Ledee put Brown in trouble with one out, but he escaped by snaring Joe Girardi's hard comebacker and coming back from a 3-1 count to strike out a swinging Pettitte.