The New York Yankees Core Four Joined By The Terrific Three

July 1, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees former player

at bat during the 66th annual Old Timers Day game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

With Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill in line for plaques in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park, it is time to recognize them and give them their due respect.

Every five year old with a Yankee cap can rattle off the names of the Core Four: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. Now, it’s time to officially crown “The Terrific Three!”

Looking at the career stats of  the two position- player members of the Core Four, we see that Derek Jeter has a lifetime regular season batting average of .312 and Jorge Posada hit .273. So for argument sake, that puts them at .292 combined. That’s ahead of the .283 combined average of Williams, Martinez and ONeill.

But the advantage that Jeter and Posada have in batting average is made up for in the power area of  The Terrific Three. Jeter and Posada combined for an average  266 career home runs each, while Williams, O’Neill and Martinez had an average of 302 a piece.

That alone should justify the creation of  The Terrific Three. But let’s not stop there. One of the signature moment’s of Jeter’s career is his diving into the stands and coming out with both the ball and a black eye, right?

Likewise, everyone who saw O’Neill play knows about his hustle too. Remember his legendary way of stretching a single into a double, when he literally began his head first slide halfway between first and second?

But all the hustle and batting numbers don’t mean a hill of beans without championships, right? Well, Posada and Jeter have nine World Series championships for an average of 4.5, and The Terrific Three have 13 for an average of 4.3.

So in every area, statistics, hustle and winning, Williams, O’Neill and Martinez match Jeter and Posada. Now I get it, only Bernie came up through the Yankees farm system while all The Core Four came through there, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the tribute.

And yes, it all goes to the same cause, the success of the Yankees franchise. But with plaques soon coming in Monument Park, it’s time that these three get the recognition they have always deserved. It’s time for The Core Four to be joined by The Terrific Three. And the three should be going into Monument Park together.