Gedman was The Sporting News AL Rookie Player of the Year in 1981 and by the age of 25 had become one of baseball’s most promising catchers, but was plagued by injuries, holdouts, and inconsistency thereafter.
With a wide-open, weight-back batting stance, Gedman hit 24 homers in 1984 and followed with career highs in average (.295) and RBI (80) in 1985 while throwing out nearly half of opposition base stealers. His average dipped to .258 in 1986, and in 1987 he remained unsigned until May 1, then hit only .205 before injuring his thumb in mid-July.
In 1988 and 1989, Gedman platooned with Rick Cerone. He was traded to Houston for a minor-leaguer in June 1990 and spent the last two seasons of his career with the Cardinals as a backup to Tom Pagnozzi.