Rich Gedman

Richard Leo 'Rich' Gedman (b. September 26, 1956) was a professional baseball player.

A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Gedman played first base and pitched in high school. Not classically athletic, he went undrafted in the June 1977 draft, and was signed as an undrafted free-agent by the Boston Red Sox. He was sent to instructional league to learn to play catcher, and progressed steadily up through the Red Sox minor league system. Highlights of his minor league career included catching the first nine innings of the longest game in the history of Organized Ball, a 33 inning affair between Gedman's Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings.

Gedman made his debut for the Sox in September 1980, pinch-hitting for Carl Yastrzemski. In 1981, regular Sox catcher Carlton Fisk was granted free-agency and signed with the Chicago White Sox, leaving the catcher position open. Gedman shared catching duties with Gary Allenson, and played well enough to be named The Sporting Life Rookie of the Year.

Following a poor 1982, Gedman's hitting improved under the instruction of Red Sox hitting coach Walt Hriniak, and in 1984 and 1985 he was an above average hitter, with a career high 24 home-runs in 1984.

1986 saw three of the highlights of Gedman's career. On April 29, he set the American League record for putouts by a catcher with 20, as Roger Clemens set the major league record for strikeouts. He was also selected to the All Star Game that year, to go with his appearance in the 1985 game.

However, the peak of his career coincided with one of its lows. Gedman played for the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series. In the bottom of the tenth inning of Game 6, with the Sox leading by one run, with two outs, and Kevin Mitchell on third, Bob Stanley threw a pitch that Gedman failed to handle. It was scored as a wild pitch, but many considered it a Gedman passed ball. The runner came in to score, tying the game. The batter, Mookie Wilson, then hit a ball that went through first-baseman Bill Buckner's legs to win the game for the Mets. The Sox went on to lose the deciding game, and the series.

A litany of injuries contributed to the waning of Gedman's skills, both offensive and defensive. In 1989, Rick Cerone replaced Gedman as the regular catcher for the Sox. In 1990, he was traded to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later. He was not re-signed by the Astros, and in 1991 Gedman signed with the St. Louis Cardinals to back up Tom Pagnozzi.

After spending spring training of 1993 with the Oakland Athletics, he signed a minor-league contract with the New York Yankees, playing the season with their AAA club, the Columbus Clippers. When he failed to make a major league roster in 1994, he retired, at the age of 34.

In 2002, Gedman became a coach with the North Shore Spirit, a team in the independent Northeast League. As of the 2004 season, he is the Spirit's bench coach.