Core Four
 The Core Four on the Cover of Sports Illustrated 6 Months After The Yankees' 2009 World Series Victory
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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.
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.
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