JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The celebration may have been scaled back, but the New York Yankees' accomplishment was not.

The Yankees put the finishing touches on their 25th World Series title tonight, riding a stellar performance from Roger Clemens to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, and complete their second straight four-game sweep.

What was billed as a battle for mythical Team of the Decade status was no contest. The Yankees won their third World Series in four years and became the first repeat winners since the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992-93.

New York has won 12 straight World Series games, tying the record set by the Yankees in 1927, 1928 and 1932. The Yankees recorded the first back-to-back World Series sweeps since the same franchise did it in 1938-39.

"This club is so special," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "To do this is even better this year because we validated what we did last year and didn't rest on our laurels."

Casting a somber note on the celebration was the news that Charles O'Neill, the father of Yankees right fielder Paul O'Neill, died early this morning.

O'Neill remained in the lineup and was 0-for-3. He broke down in tears during the celebration near the pitcher's mound.

"It obviously came out at the end," said O'Neill, again choking back tears. "Certainly, I'm proud to be here to be on this team. It's special."

"I said to Paul O'Neill, your dad got to watch this one," Torre added.

O'Neill became the third Yankee to lose his father this season, joining Scott Brosius and Sojo. The timing was a sad reminder that the second straight World Series win did not come without adversity, most notably by Torre, who overcame prostate cancer surgery.

As a result, the postgame celebration was joyous but clearly more reserved than in recent years.

"Right now, I'm numb more than anything," said Brosius, the 1998 World Series MVP who hit .375 in this series and made an outstanding defensive play to throw out Jones in the sixth. "We're feeling lot of things now, a lot of happiness, a lot of relief."

The celebration may have been less spirited not only out of respect for their teammates, but because many of the Yankees have been there before. And there will be more time to revel with another ticker-tape parade scheduled for Friday in lower Manhattan.

The 25 World Series titles dwarf the nine won by the St. Louis Cardinals, who are second on the list, and are the most championships in professional sports history. The Montreal Canadiens have won 23 Stanley Cups in the National Hockey League.

No player was happier to be part of the unparalleled success than the 37-year-old Clemens, who has won five Cy Young Awards and finally has a World Series title to his credit.

"I feel very blessed to be part of this team," Clemens said. "It was wonderful to play with them. Tonight I felt what it was like to be a Yankee, for sure."

Acquired from Toronto in a blockbuster trade in February, Clemens was given the rare opportunity to, in one night, erase a disappointing regular season (4.60 ERA) and a dismal performance against Boston, his former team, in his lone start in the American League Championship Series.

"I heard people talk about how I could be rattled and things like that," Clemens said. "I don't get rattled. I put pressure on myself to rise to the occasion."

Clemens (1-0) did just that, allowing one run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four to outduel John Smoltz (0-1), the winningest pitcher in postseason history who struck out 11 over seven innings.

Closer Mariano Rivera worked out of a jam in the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth, getting Keith Lockhart to fly out to Chad Curtis in left field for the final out.

Rivera had two saves and a win in the series to earn Most Valuable Player honors. He did not allow a run in 12 1/3 innings this postseason and 43 innings dating back to July.

The Braves tied a record for World Series futility with their eighth straight defeat, done previously by the Philadelphia Phillies (1915, 1950) and the Yankees (1921-23).

"The Yankees are head and shoulders above," said Smoltz, who allowed six hits. "We don't deserve the blame, they deserve the credit."

Despite eight straight Division titles, Atlanta will spend the winter dwelling on another disappointing October. The Braves have made five trips to the World Series this decade and won just once. The ease in which they were dispatched undoubtedly will raise questions that the team has underachieved.

"We scratched and clawed to get here," Smoltz said. "With what our organization has done, maybe the next decade will be ours."

Atlanta is the first team to lose four World Series in the same decade since the New York Giants between 1911-17. The Braves also were swept in a postseason series for the first time since the 1982 National League Championship Series against St. Louis.

"Coming into the series, I would say no way to a sweep, but they played a perfect series and believe you me, they would have swept any team the way they played these four games," Jones said.

It seemed inevitable that the Yankees would complete the four-game sweep. New York has won each of the last six games when it has the chance to close out a postseason opponent.

The Yankees concluded this postseason with even greater ease than in 1998, when they won 114 times in the regular season. New York was 11-1 this postseason after losing twice last year.