- Core Four
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The Core Four is a term commonly used to refer to New York Yankees players Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. All four players were drafted or originally signed by the Yankees and played together in the minor leagues. By the end of the 2000s, they were the only remaining Yankees from the late 1990s Yankees dynasty that won four World Series championships in five years. All four players were also on the Yankees' active roster in 2009, when the team won its fifth World Series championship in the past 14 years. Three members of the Core Four (Jeter, Rivera and Posada) played together for 17 consecutive years, longer than any other similar group in professional sports.[1] Andy Pettitte had a break in his "service time" when he played in Houston for three seasons, before returning to the Yankees in 2007.
Pettitte announced his retirement on February 4, 2011, becoming the first member of the Core Four to retire.[2] The remaining players are referred to as the Key Three.[3]
Contents
Beginnings
All four joined the Yankees organization in the early 1990s, signed as amateurs. Rivera signed as an international free agent in February 1990.[4] In the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft, Pettitte was selected in the 22nd round, while Posada was selected in the 24th round. Jeter was selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft.
Together, the Core Four progressed through the Yankees minor league system in the early 1990s. All four made their major league debuts in 1995.[5]
Milestones
Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter became the Yankees all-time hits leader on September 11, 2009, with his 2,722nd hit, surpassing Lou Gehrig.[6] On July 9, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Rays, he collected his 3,000th hit[7], becoming the 28th player to reach the milestone, the first Yankee to accomplish the feat and collect all 3,000 hits in pinstripes[8][9], the first player to reach the milestone with a New York team[10], the fourth youngest player to achieve 3000 hits[11], the second to do it by hitting a home run (after former teammate Wade Boggs), the second to reach 3000 hits in a 5-hit game (after Craig Biggio)[10] and the first to attain the milestone playing shortstop exclusively.[12] Furthermore, Jeter broke Rickey Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases on May 28, 2011, when he stole his 327th base against the Mariners.[13] Jeter's third milestone in 2011 was breaking Mickey Mantle's record for most games played as a Yankee, accomplishing this on August 28, 2011 against the Orioles.[14] In 2000, he became the first and only player to have won both the World Series MVP and the All-Star Game MVP in the same season. He is also the only Yankee to be awarded the All-Star Game MVP.[15]
Andy Pettitte
Andy Pettitte holds the all-time record for postseason victories, with 19 wins in total.[16] He also ranks second in strikeouts (1,823)[17] and third in wins (203)[18] for the Yankees.[19]
Jorge Posada
Jorge Posada is the only Major League catcher to ever have hit .330 or better with 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 90 RBIs in a single season. Posada is only the second Yankees catcher to hit 30 home runs in a season, after Yogi Berra. Among Yankee catchers, Posada is first all-time in doubles (365),[20] walks (897),[21] intentional walks (74)[22] and second in home runs (261)[23] and extra-base hits (636),[24] both after Berra. On April 16, 2009, Posada hit the first home run at the new Yankee Stadium.[25] On July 14, 2011, with a pinch-hit appearance against the Blue Jays, Posada played his 1,660th game with Jeter. This broke the record for most regular-season games played together by two Yankee teammates, previously held by Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri.[26] Posada is currently 6th in all-time grand slams for the Yankees with 10.[27]
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera became the all-time leader in regular season saves on September 19, 2011, when, facing the Minnesota Twins, he earned his 602nd save.[28] This broke Trevor Hoffman's six year hold on the record.[29] Rivera also holds the records of 15 consecutive seasons with 25 or more saves,[30] 9 consecutive seasons with 30 or more saves, and 14 seasons with 30 or more saves (tied with Hoffman).[31][32] Since 1996, Rivera has held an ERA under 3.00 in all but one season (2007).[33] In the postseason, Rivera holds the all-time record for saves (42) and ERA (0.71).[33] Throughout his 12 All-Star selections, he has saved a record 4 games, his most recent one coming in the 2009 Midsummer Classic.[34] On May 25, 2011, Rivera became the 15th pitcher to make 1,000 appearances, and the first to do so with a single team.[35][36] On July 1, 2011, against the Mets, Rivera finished his 857th game, breaking Hoffman's all-time record for games finished.[37] He also holds the record for most games pitched in American League history.[38]
Statistics
External images The Core Four on the Cover of Sports Illustrated 6 Months After The Yankees' 2009 World Series Victory Table key
Yankee team record † American League record * Major League record ‡ Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame * Denotes player who is still active G Games played or Games pitched AB At bats R Runs scored H Hits HR Home runs RBI Runs batted in Avg. Batting average SB Stolen bases IP Innings pitched W Wins L Losses SV Saves ERA Earned run average SO Strikeouts BB Walks Stats updated through 2011
Batting
Pos. Player G AB R H HR RBI Avg. SB Ref SS Derek Jeter* 2426 9868 1769 (3rd) 3088 240 1196 (8th) .313 (6th) 339 [39] C / 1B Jorge Posada* 1829 (8th) 6092 900 1664 275 (8th) 1065 .273 20 [40] Pitching
Pos. Player G IP W L SV ERA SO BB Ref SP Andy Pettitte 405 (8th) 2535 2⁄3 (4th) 203 (3rd) 112 (4th) 0 3.98 1823 (2nd) 820 (5th) [41] RP Mariano Rivera* 1042† 1211 1⁄3 75 57 603* 2.21 1111 (9th) 275 [42] Legacy
In addition to winning 5 World Series championships, the Core Four have also won 7 AL pennants and 11 AL East championships for the Yankees. Furthermore, the four have led the team to 15 postseason appearances in their 16 seasons with the Yankees (every season except for 2008).[43]
With the rise of free agency and trades, many sportswriters regard that it is highly unlikely that another group of players of comparable size will spend their entire careers with a single team.[44][45]
See also
- Murderer's Row
- M&M Boys
References
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- ^ Hoch, Bryan (2011-02-03). "Pettitte calls it a career after 16 years, five rings". MLB.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110203&content_id=16566294&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ^ Schlueter, Roger (February 24, 2011). "Stat Speak: Yanks' 'Key Three' are legendary". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110224&content_id=16720322&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
- ^ Antonen, Mel (2006-10-09). "Yanks' Rivera continues to learn". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soac/2006-10-09-rivera_x.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-20.
- ^ DeLessio, Joe (February 7, 2011). "Can We Retire the Phrase ‘Core Four’ Now?". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/sports/2011/02/can_we_retire_the_phrase_core.html. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
- ^ DiComo, Anthony (September 12, 2009). "Jeter passes Gehrig with 2,722nd hit". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090911&content_id=6909874&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
- ^ Shpigel, Ben (November 10, 2010). "Hit No. 3,000: A Moment Finally Tailor-Made for Pinstripes". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/sports/baseball/01hits.html. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
- ^ Hoch, Bryan (July 9, 2011). "With homer, Jeter joins 3,000-hit club". MLB.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110614&content_id=20463750&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
- ^ Rumberg, Howie (June 12, 2011). "Jeter to become first in pinstripes to 3,000 hits". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/06/12/sports/s152451D89.DTL. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
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- ^ "New York Yankees Wins Stats". yankees.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/stats/historical/player_stats.jsp?subScope=pos&teamPosCode=all&HS=true§ion2=null&timeFrame=3&sitSplit=&statType=2&statType=Overview&c_id=nyy&Submit=Submit&baseballScope=BLA&timeSubFrame2=0&venueID=&timeSubFrame=0&&sortByStat=W. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
- ^ Shpigel, Ben (February 3, 2011). "Retirement Further Erodes a Homegrown Core". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/sports/baseball/04core.html?ref=derekjeter. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
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- ^ "New York Yankees Base on Balls Stats for Catchers". yankees.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/stats/historical/player_stats.jsp?subScope=pos&teamPosCode=2&HS=true§ion1=null&timeFrame=3&sitSplit=&statType=1&statType=Overview&c_id=nyy&Submit=Submit&baseballScope=BLA&timeSubFrame2=0&venueID=&timeSubFrame=0&&sortByStat=BB. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "New York Yankees Intentional Base on Balls Stats for Catchers". yankees.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/stats/historical/player_stats.jsp?teamPosCode=2&subScope=pos&HS=true§ion1=1&timeFrame=3&sitSplit=&statType=1&c_id=nyy&baseballScope=BLA&statSet1=2&venueID=&timeSubFrame=0&&sortByStat=IBB. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
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- ^ "New York Yankees Extra Base Hits Stats for Catchers". yankees.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/stats/historical/player_stats.jsp?teamPosCode=2&subScope=pos&HS=true§ion1=1&timeFrame=3&sitSplit=&statType=1&c_id=nyy&baseballScope=BLA&statSet1=2&venueID=&timeSubFrame=0&&sortByStat=XBH. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
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- ^ a b Waldstein, David (September 10, 2011). "Quietly, Rivera Nears an Underrated Record". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/sports/baseball/mariano-rivera-quietly-approaches-an-underrated-record.html?_r=1&ref=baseball. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
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- ^ Fortuna, Matt (May 25, 2011). "Mo makes history with 1,000th appearance". MLB.com. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110525&content_id=19566344&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
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- ^ "Mariano Rivera". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riverma01.shtml. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ^ Blum, Ronald (May 14, 2011). "Yankees old guard nears end". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/yankees-old-guard-nears-end/article2022422/. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
- ^ Barbarisi, Daniel (February 5, 2011). "Pettitte Leaves Behind a Core 3". WSJ.com. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704709304576124541898486456.html. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (November 9, 2010). "Without Lifers Like Jeter, Yankees Lose Their Aura". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/sports/baseball/10jeter.html?ref=sports. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
Categories:- New York Yankees
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