The latter threw a knuckleball at the time, which Posada struggled to catch (hitting him mostly on the knee), prompting Pettitte to abandon the pitch. It was during their tenure with the Oneonta Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League in 1991 that Posada, initially an infielder, began catching for his future major league batterymate Pettitte. Together, the Core Four progressed through the Yankees minor league system in the early 1990s. Jeter was selected in the first round, with the sixth overall selection, of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft. The Yankees selected Pettitte in the 22nd round and Posada in the 24th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. Rivera signed as an international free agent in February 1990. 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.ĭerek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte all joined the New York Yankees organization in the early 1990s as amateurs. 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 Veterans Committee. Notably, Rivera is the only unanimous pick in the Hall of Fame's history, while Jeter fell one vote short of unanimous selection himself. All four were honored at Monument Park, while Jeter and Rivera were both inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The four members of the Core Four are now regarded as some of the greatest Yankees players of all time. Both Pettitte and Rivera retired after the 2013 season, and Jeter retired after the 2014 season. Pettitte came out of retirement prior to the 2012 season and played for two more years. Posada followed suit after 2011, ending his 17-year career with the Yankees. He retired after the 2010 season, reducing the group to the so-called Key Three. Pettitte had a sojourn away from the team when he played for the Houston Astros for three seasons, but returned to the Yankees in 2007. 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 history of North American professional sports. All four players were on the Yankees' active roster in 2009 when the team won the 2009 World Series-its fifth championship in the previous 14 years. By 2007, they were the only remaining Yankees from the franchise's dynasty of the previous decade. They played together in the minor leagues and were all promoted to the major leagues in 1995. Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, and Rivera were drafted or signed as amateurs by the Yankees in the early 1990s. Each member of the Core Four was a key contributor to the Yankees' late-1990s and early 2000s dynasty that won four World Series championships in five years. The "Core Four" are former New York Yankees baseball players Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. From left: Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter. Group of New York Yankees players from the 1990s through the 2010s
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