Core Four

The "Core Four" are former <a href="/facts/New_York_Yankees/FFNE7F0J">New York Yankees</a> <a href="/facts/Baseball/42bEQy1Y">baseball</a> players <a href="/facts/Derek_Jeter/b1C9XFJP">Derek Jeter</a>, <a href="/facts/Andy_Pettitte/GN57sVap">Andy Pettitte</a>, <a href="/facts/Jorge_Posada/hQCgrv4F">Jorge Posada</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mariano_Rivera/mqts6Mx9">Mariano Rivera</a>. Each member of the Core Four was a key contributor to the Yankees' late-1990s and early 2000s <a href="/facts/Dynasty_(sports)/oUYQJhF8">dynasty</a> that won four <a href="/facts/World_Series/l50eYfN3">World Series</a> championships in five years, and a fifth in 2009.
Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, and Rivera were drafted or signed as amateurs by the Yankees in the early 1990s. They played together in the <a href="/facts/Minor_League_Baseball/7vFxYneR">minor leagues</a> and were all promoted to the major leagues in 1995. By <a href="/facts/2007_New_York_Yankees_season/7NQLpAWr">2007</a>, they were the only remaining Yankees from the franchise's dynasty of the previous decade. All four players were on the Yankees' active roster in <a href="/facts/2009_New_York_Yankees_season/SCSuuBDG">2009</a> when the team won the <a href="/facts/2009_World_Series/aJ4SWFEd">2009 World Series</a>—its fifth championship in the previous 14 years. 
Three members of the Core Four—Jeter, Rivera and Posada—played together for 17 consecutive years (1995–2011), longer than any other similar group in the <a href="/facts/Major_professional_sports_leagues_in_the_United_States_and_Canada/vLIo3PFF">history of North American professional sports</a>. Pettitte had a sojourn away from the team when he played for the <a href="/facts/Houston_Astros/YVwXLuEM">Houston Astros</a> for three seasons, but returned to the Yankees in <a href="/facts/2007_New_York_Yankees_season/7NQLpAWr">2007</a>. He retired after the 2010 season, reducing the group to the so-called Key Three. Posada followed suit after 2011, ending his 17-year career with the Yankees. Pettitte came out of retirement prior to the 2012 season and played for two more years. Both Pettitte and Rivera retired after the 2013 season, and Jeter retired after the <a href="/facts/2014_Major_League_Baseball_season/2coMHVry">2014 season</a>.
The four members of the Core Four are now regarded as some of the greatest Yankees players of all time. All four were honored at <a href="/facts/Monument_Park_(Yankee_Stadium)/QoJns00y">Monument Park</a>, while Jeter and Rivera were both inducted into the <a href="/facts/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame/S6us3Lke">National Baseball Hall of Fame</a>. Notably, Rivera is the only unanimous pick in the Hall of Fame's history, while Jeter fell one vote short of unanimous selection himself. Posada became eligible in 2017, but received only 3.8% of the vote and was dropped off of the ballot, although he may still be inducted by the <a href="/facts/Veterans_Committee/sm2t5V5q">Veterans Committee</a>. Pettitte is currently still on the ballot, but has only accumulated 17% of the vote (opposed to the necessary 75% needed for induction) as of the 2023 ballot, his fifth ballot.

Core Four open-in-new

Core Four