The Subway Series


		New York, New York on its best behavior

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Considering the possible insanity of a Subway Series, the mingling of rabid Yankees fans with fanatical Mets boosters, Joe Torre issued a call for calm.


	Yankees fan Lee Harrs, of Thornwood, N.Y., rides the No. 4 subway train to Game 1 with his friend Mets fan Frank Mitch, of Chatham, N..J.

"I hope," the Yankees manager said before the series, "that people behave themselves."

Perhaps Torre should have relayed the message to his own locker room. Unlike Yankees starter Roger Clemens, New York's fans have demonstrated only their best manners since the all-Big Apple World Series began Saturday.

While Clemens hurled a jagged piece of shattered bat across the infield, the fans at both Yankee and Shea Stadium have gone wild without getting crazy. Though bitter rivals, fans on both sides have shown grudging respect for the opposition and the heavy police presence.

Living proof was offered by Paul Sarris of Litchfield, Conn., a Yankees cap on his head and two small children -- sons Paul, 7, and James, 9 -- standing by his side before Wednesday night's fourth game.

Any worries about heading into Shea in their Yankees paraphernalia?

"Not at all," Sarris said. "This is a New York thing. Nothing is going to happen. We've been here since 3 p.m., just hanging out and walking around. What could be nicer than this?"

A clearer example of the World Series detente came from sisters Melissa and Amanda Hutt. Melissa, 22, was resplendent in a New York Mets' Robin Ventura jersey. Kid sister Amanda, 14, was a picture in Yankees' pinstripes.

They walked together. They chatted with each other. They were -- UGH -- actually civil.

"This is not L.A.," Melissa said when asked about the peaceful coexistence of the fans. "It's New York. We have two teams, people root for both. Deal with it."

On this, the sisters found common ground.

"No problems," Amanda agreed. "Nothing bad at all."

It's been that way throughout the Subway Series: plenty of talk on both sides, but thankfully little action.

On night one at Shea Stadium -- Game 3 in the series -- police reported just 15 arrests: 14 for unlicensed peddlers out to make a quick illegal buck and one for scalping.

In Game 2, when Clemens was demonstrating his bat-tossing technique, just a single fan among the 55,000 in Yankee Stadium was cited for disorderly conduct. (Clemens, while fined $50,000, did not receive a summons.)

After the first game, a mellow police Capt. Tom Fahey stood outside Yankee Stadium, smiling in a light blue NYPD windbreaker.

"Quiet," the police spokesman said. "A few arrests for scalping, but no fights and no big incidents."

The mild behavior stands in marked contrast with the action in recent years in and around other major sporting events.

Championships in other cities have produced riots and violence. Los Angeles was the scene of a riot this year after the Lakers' won an NBA title, and the same thing happened repeatedly last decade in Chicago and Denver. When the Pistons won their second consecutive NBA title in 1990, seven people in Detroit were killed and hundreds were injured by gunfire, stabbings and brawling.

In 1999, after Michigan State lost in the Final Four to Duke, more than 10,000 people ran amok in East Lansing, with 132 people arrested.

Not in New York.

The Yankees have won three of the past four World Series; each time, New Yorkers celebrated with a parade through the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan. The response was the same when the New York Rangers ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994.

And regardless of who wins the Subway Series, expect the same.

"It's all in good fun," explained Lenny Miller, 30, of White Plains, as he stood outside Shea Stadium in his Yankees cap.