Yankees sweep Braves to win 35th World Series

Roger Clemens pitched the Yankees to a 4-1 win, earning the first world championship of his 16-year career. The Associated Press NEW YORK -- The Rocket can rest now. The ring is his. Roger Clemens pitched the New York Yankees to their second straight World Series sweep, shutting down the Atlanta Braves 4-1 last night and ending his quest for the one and only prize that eluded him. With raucous fans waving yellow, plastic brooms all over the ballpark and Clemens bouncing around on the mound, the Yankees won their record 25th championship. Game 4 marked New York's 12th Series victory in a row, matching the mark set by its Murderers' Row teams. Clemens waited his entire career for this moment and, at last, commanded the October stage. Showing the form that earned him five Cy Young Awards and 247 wins in 16 seasons, Clemens shut out Atlanta into the eighth to outduel John Smoltz. Brought to the Bronx this spring from Toronto in a trade for David Wells that many Yankees fans disliked, Clemens walked off the mound to rousing cheers, tipping his cap and holding both hands high to acknowledge the ovation. Mariano Rivera, who had two saves and a win in the Series, was selected as MVP. The Yankees finished off a week in which they simply overwhelmed the club that had the best record in the majors, and accomplished a lot more. Along the way, they: · Became baseball's first repeat champion since Toronto in 1992-93. · Posted the first set of consecutive Series sweeps since the Yankees in 1938-39. · Completed an incredible run in which they won 18 of 19 postseason games. The only loss came when Clemens was beaten by Pedro Martinez at Fenway Park 11 days earlier. · And, in the last game of the 20th century, their All-Century Team pitcher ended all debate about which club was most dominant this decade. For Atlanta, the loss was its record-tying eighth straight in the Series, a string that began in 1996 against the Yankees. It surely was a bitter disappointment for the Braves and manager Bobby Cox. After winning the title in 1995, they had ''Team of the '90s'' engraved on their rings. Instead, they joined the New York Giants of 1910-19 as the only teams ever to lose four World Series in a decade. Clemens and the sellout crowd of 56,752 fans, meanwhile, basked in pinstriped glory after taking an early 3-0 lead. At 37, he won his first championship -- John Elway was the same age when he won his first Super Bowl. Featuring a fastball in the mid-90s mph, Clemens struck out four and walked two in his first World Series victory -- he got two no-decisions in 1986 when his Boston Red Sox blew it against the New York Mets. Smoltz struck out three to avoid trouble in the second inning, but could not escape in the third. Chuck Knoblauch and Derek Jeter opened with singles and a one-out intentional walk to Bernie Williams loaded the bases.