New York first night rewards only the brave

THE New York Yankees took the field on Sunday night to the strains of the Superman theme tune and the roars of 57,000 fans who had not seen their' team compete in a World Series for 15 years. They left it in stunned silence.

The team who once dominated baseball so thoroughly that the Fall Classic was virtually considered a regular season fixture were roundly thrashed by an Atlanta Braves side riding on the strong shoulders of an unknown 19 year old.

Andrew Jones, who began this season playing in the lowest of the minor leagues, hit home runs in his first two appearances at the plate on Sunday night, propelling his team to a 12-1 victory. It was the heaviest defeat the Yankees had suffered in their long World Series history.

Jones, who did not stop grinning through three hours of Yankee agony, eclipsed the great Mickey Mantle to become the youngest player ever to hit a home run in a World Series game.

"The team was on fire and I was kind of on fire too," he said after "his team moved to a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series. "I was ready. God gave me those talents and I've been using them."

Jones's two homers, in the seconds and third innings, punctured the euphoria of a city that had convinced itself the glory days of Babe Ruth and Joe Di Maggio were at hand once more.

The Yankees even called up Di Maggio to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, but their storied history was not enough to unsettle an Atlanta line up who have recently been posting scores that might be mistaken for American football results.

In their last four games, three of them against the St Louis Cardinals, the defending champions have scored no less than 44 runs while their opponents have managed just two.

By the time Yankees shell shocked star pitcher, Andy Pettitte, was relieved, a third of the way through the third inning, the Braves were leading 5-0. Atlanta added three more runs before the inning was over.

During their white knuckle ride to the Series, the Yankees proved they had plenty of hitting stars of their own. Bernie Williams, the quietly spoken centre fielder who punished the pitchers of Texas and was already being compared to Ruth and Di Maggio.

But, even pitching below his best, Atlanta ace John Smoltz was good enough to silence the Yankee bats. Smoltz denied New York a hit until Wade Boggs cracked a double in the fifth, allowing the rookie short stop Derek Jeter to score.

The start of the World Series was delayed by the heavy storms that hit the New York area over the weekend.