The NEW Core 4: BUCN Style

The Yankees often used a phrase called the core four to discuss the four guys who were a part of the Yankees stretch of winning world series.  That list included Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera,  Derek Jeter, and Andy Pettite.  Jeter was the last member of the Core Four to not choose retirement, but his time will be coming to an end this year.

The Pirates had their first winning record in over 2 decades last season thanks in large part to four impact players who are under team control through at least 2016.
That list includes
Starling Marte (signed through 2019 with team options through 2021)
Gerrit Cole (under team control through 2019
Andrew McCutchen (signed through 2017)
Pedro Alvarez (team control through 2016)

It's highly unlikely that the Pirates will keep all four of these guys past their contracts expiration, but with these four under team control through the next 3 seasons, the Pirates have a legitimate chance to contend in the post season each year.

I won the quad relic seen above for $36 delivered about a month ago and am happy to add such a nice card featuring these four players together.  Topps has been paying a greater deal of attention to Pirates fans lately mostly because of all the exciting young talent coming through the past few seasons.