Richard Leo Gedman (born September 26, 1959) is an American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
hitting adviser with the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, and a former
coach and player. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) as a
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
for the Red Sox (1980–1990),
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
(1990–1991), and
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
(1991–1992). Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Baseball career
Amateur and minor leagues
A native of
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
, Gedman played
first base
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
and
pitched at
Saint Peter-Marian High School and for the
Grafton Hill (Worcester)
American Legion Baseball
American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...
program. He went undrafted in the
1977 Major League Baseball Draft, and was signed as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
by the Red Sox. He was sent to the Instructional League to learn to play catcher, and progressed steadily up through the Red Sox
minor leagues system. Highlights of his minor league career included catching the first nine innings of the
longest game in the history of professional baseball, a 33 inning affair between Gedman's
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...
and the
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...
.
Major leagues
Gedman made his debut for the Sox at the age of 20 in September 1980,
pinch-hitting for
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski Sr. ( ; born August 22, 1939), nicknamed "Yaz", is an American former professional baseball player who played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He started his career primarily as a ...
. In 1981, regular Sox catcher
Carlton Fisk was granted free-agency and signed with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
, leaving the catcher position open. Gedman shared catching duties with
Gary Allenson, and played well enough to be named
The ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year.
Following a poor 1982, Gedman's hitting improved the next two seasons under the instruction of Red Sox
hitting coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...
Walt Hriniak. He hit a career high 24
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s in 1984 and followed with career highs in
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(.295) and
RBI (80) in 1985 while throwing out nearly half of potential
base stealers. In that season, he became the 16th Red Sox player and only the sixth catcher since 1900 to
hit for the cycle
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization ...
.
In 1986, Gedman experienced three of the highlights of his career. Gedman was the
battery-mate for Red Sox pitcher
Roger Clemens on April 29 when Clemens struck out 20 batters in a game against the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...
to set the
major league single-game strikeout record in a nine-inning game. Gedman's 20
putout
In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods:
* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base (a tag ...
s during the game set the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
record for putouts by a catcher. On April 30, he had 16 putouts for a total of 36 in two days, which is the most for a catcher in two consecutive games. Gedman was also selected to the
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
that year, to go with his appearance in the 1985 game. But the peak of his career coincided with one of its lows in the
1986 World Series
The 1986 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 Major League Baseball season, 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...
. In the bottom of the tenth inning of Game 6, with the Sox leading by one run with two outs,
Kevin Mitchell on
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (di ...
and
Mookie Wilson at bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...
,
reliever Bob Stanley threw a pitch that Gedman failed to handle. It was scored as a
wild pitch
In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...
, but many considered it a Gedman
passed ball
In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a run ...
. Mitchell came in to score, tying the game. Then, Wilson hit a ball that went through
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
Bill Buckner's legs to win the game for the Mets. The Sox went on to lose the deciding game, and the series.
On January 8, 1987, ten free agents (Gedman,
Tim Raines,
Lance Parrish,
Bob Horner,
Andre Dawson,
Ron Guidry
Ronald Ames Guidry (; born August 28, 1950), nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Guidry was also the pitch ...
,
Bob Boone,
Doyle Alexander,
Toby Harrah and
Gary Roenicke) failed to meet a midnight deadline and thus were not allowed to re-sign with their former clubs until May 1 if they were not offered contracts by new teams. The general lack of interest in the players became the focus of a
Players Association anti-collusion lawsuit against the owners.
On November 3, 1986, while practicing for a seven-game series between Major League and Japanese All-Stars, Gedman was struck by a warmup pitch from
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
pitcher
Willie Hernández, resulting in a fractured cheekbone. This was the beginning of a litany of injuries, holdouts, and inconsistency which contributed to the waning of Gedman's skills, both offensive and defensive. In 1989,
Rick Cerone replaced him as the regular Boston catcher. In 1990, he served as back-up catcher to
Tony Peña, who was acquired by the Red Sox during the offseason. On June 7, Gedman was traded to Houston for a player to be named later.
Gedman was not re-signed by the Astros, and in 1991 he signed with the Cardinals to back up
Tom Pagnozzi. After spending
spring training
Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
of 1993 with the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
, Gedman signed a minor-league contract with the
Yankees, playing the season with their
Triple-A club, the
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...
. When he failed to make a major league roster in 1994, he retired at age 34.
During his career, Gedman
batted .252 with 88 home runs, 382 RBI, 331
runs, 176
doubles, 12
triples, and three stolen bases in 1033 games. As a catcher, he compiled a .984
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...
with 5274 putouts, 431
assists and 92
errors in 980 games.
Gedman made the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
All-Star Team twice as a catcher in the 1980s, joining such players as
Lance Parrish,
Carlton Fisk,
Ted Simmons, and
Terry Steinbach as the only players to accomplish this.
Coaching
In 2002, Gedman became a
coach with the
North Shore Spirit, a team in the independent
Northeast League. He was also the Spirit's bench coach. He then managed the
Worcester Tornadoes, in the
Can-Am League, from 2005 through 2010. The Tornadoes won the Can-Am League title in their first year of existence. In his six years in Worcester, Gedman led the team to a 283–290 record, 10–6 in the postseason.
On January 10, 2011, Gedman returned to
organized baseball when he was named hitting coach for the
Lowell Spinners
The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...
, the Red Sox'
Class A Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...
affiliate in the
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
, returning to the Boston organization after a two-decade absence. In 2012, Gedman was promoted to
Class A Salem, and switched to
Double-A Portland Sea Dogs
The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...
in 2013. In 2015, he was named hitting coach of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, and moved with the team when they left Pawtucket for Worcester in 2021. He remained with the
Worcester Red Sox as their hitting coach through the 2024 season.
In January 2025, the Red Sox named Gedman as a player development hitting adviser.
Highlights
* Twice named an All-Star (1985–86)
* The Sporting News' AL Rookie of the Year (1981)
* Selected for the All-Star team by
UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
and The Sporting News (1985)
* Caught
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
's one-hitter (September 26, 1980)
* Set two AL records for putouts in a game
0and in consecutive games
6(April 29–30, 1986)
* Hit for the cycle and drove in seven runs against the
Blue Jays (September 18, 1985)
* Reached base in all five at-bats of historic Game 5 of the
1986 American League Championship Series. This included a two-run home run in the second inning and a
hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...
in the ninth inning that set up
Dave Henderson's dramatic two-out home run.
Personal life
Rich Gedman met his future-wife Sherry Aselton in 1977, when both attended St. Peter-Marian High School in Worcester.
Sherry went on to play softball and basketball at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
where she threw two
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
s and as of 2011 still holds the second-lowest career ERA in program history (0.57). The couple married in 1982.
The Gedmans have two sons, Michael and Matthew, and a daughter, Marissa. Michael was a freshman pitcher for the
Le Moyne College Dolphins in 2007, but when his younger brother Matthew was accepted as a freshman at
UMass in both their
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
and
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
programs (as an infielder and a goalie), sophomore Michael transferred to UMass also. Mike played a mix of
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
and
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
, and hit .312 in three seasons for the Minutemen, including .345 as a junior in 2009. Matt played
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
and
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...
at UMass, and finished his career with a .334 batting average over his four years, and a team-leading .402 average during his senior year in 2011. Matt was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 45th round of the
2011 MLB Draft; he played in
Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
for several Red Sox
farm team
In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...
s from 2011 through 2014.
Marissa Gedman attended
Noble and Greenough School
The Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and five-day boarding school in Dedham, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. It educates 638 boys and girls in grades 7–12. The school's campus border ...
where she participated in field hockey, ice hockey, and softball. In her 2008 season, she achieved All-League ISL, a NE Championship, and 16-U National Championship in Ice Hockey. She went on to attend
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
starting in 2010, and played for the
women's ice hockey team, accumulating 75 points with the
Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey program. For the 2015–16 season, she was a member of the
Boston Pride of the
NWHL and participated in the
2016 Outdoor Women's Classic
The 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank was an ice hockey game played on December 31, 2015, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, between the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League and Les Canadiennes of t ...
, the first outdoor professional women’s hockey game.
In his spare time during the baseball off-season, Gedman holds catching clinics in central Massachusetts including at The Strike Zone in Worcester,
Shrewsbury High School, and Triple Play Batting Cages in
Clinton, Massachusetts.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
In baseball, completing hitting for the cycle, the cycle is the accomplishment of hit (baseball), hitting a single (baseball), single, a double (baseball), double, a triple (baseball), triple, and a home run in the same game. In terms of freque ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
, o
Retrosheet o
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedman, Rich
1959 births
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts
Boston Red Sox players
Bristol Red Sox players
Columbus Clippers players
Houston Astros players
Le Moyne Dolphins baseball players
Leones del Caracas players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Living people
Major League Baseball catchers
Minor league baseball managers
Minor league baseball coaches
Pawtucket Red Sox players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Winter Haven Red Sox players