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The "Core Four" are the former New York Yankees baseball players Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. All four players were drafted or originally signed as amateurs by the Yankees in the early 1990s. They played together in the minor leagues, and made their Yankee major league debuts in 1995. Each of them was a key contributor to the Yankees' late-1990s dynasty that won four World Series championships in five years. By 2007, 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 2009 when the team won the 2009 World Series—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 North American professional sports. Pettitte had a sojourn away from the team when he played for the Houston Astros for three seasons, before returning to the Yankees in 2007. 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 2014 season. ==Beginnings== Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte all joined the New York Yankees organization in the early 1990s as amateurs. Rivera signed as an international free agent in February 1990. The Yankees selected Pettitte in the 22nd round and Posada in the 24th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. Jeter was selected in the first round, with the sixth overall selection, of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft. Together, the Core Four progressed through the Yankees minor league system in the early 1990s. 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. 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.〔 Promoted to the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1992, Posada and Pettitte met Jeter, a highly regarded prospect, who had been assigned to the team. Posada and Pettitte initially questioned the hype surrounding Jeter, but soon recognized his talent and poise. Rivera injured his elbow in 1992 and had surgery in August to repair the damage. While Rivera was pitching for Greensboro in 1993 on a strict pitch count, Jeter kept track of the count from shortstop. The four first played together with the Class AAA Columbus Clippers of the International League in 1994. All four made their major league debuts in 1995. Both Jeter and Rivera reached the major leagues in May, but were demoted back to the minors in June and bounced around between the minors and major leagues throughout the year.〔〔 Posada made his major league debut in September, and along with Pettitte and Rivera, was included on the Division Series roster.〔 Jeter, Posada, and Rivera played in the same MLB game for the first time on September 28, 1996.〔 That season, Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera won their first championship together.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Core Four」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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