A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Gedman played first base and pitched at Saint Peter-Marian High School and for the Grafton Hill (Worcester) American Legion Baseball program. He went undrafted in the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft, and was signed as a free agent 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 and the Rochester Red Wings.\n', '

Gedman made his debut for the Sox at the age of 20 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 News Rookie of the Year.\n', '

Following a poor 1982, Gedman\'s hitting improved the next two seasons under the instruction of Red Sox hitting coach Walt Hriniak. He hit a career high 24 home runs in 1984 and followed with career highs in batting average (.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 6th catcher since 1900 to hit for the cycle.\n', '

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