Talk to Rich Gedman and it's clear that the PawSox have a new, passionate hitting coach who is invested in the game.

Reached earlier this week, Gedman freely admits that he is a product of his baseball environment. His playing days with the Red Sox (1980-90) saw him spend time in the company of individuals who delivered poignant messages and helpful hints that still hold meaning in his current line of work. Specifically, Gedman mentioned the hitting coach who helped him during most of his Boston tenure, Walt Hriniak. Honorable mentions also go to coach-turned-manager Joe Morgan, former Pawtucket pitching coach Mike Roarke, his BoSox teammates and the countless books Ted Williams wrote regarding the science of hitting.

"Walt taught me how to run the race and when I say that, it's the daily grind: Being prepared that day and repeating it over the course of 162 games," said Gedman. "You can't take any days off. You've got to work, but you've got to work smartly. More importantly, you don't try to be anything except you."

It's not that Gedman wants to sell his agenda to minor leaguers who would be fortunate to go on and enjoy a big-league career that resembled the 13 seasons the Worcester, Mass. Native logged. Still, the 55-year-old admits the challenges he endured as an up-and-comer fall in line with the pupils that the Red Sox have entrusted him.

"All of these kids are talented, but like me and everyone else, they create obstacles for themselves. How do you keep them focused one pitch at a time?" Gedman said. "All the clichés in the game are very valuable, especially when you understand what they do for you.

"My job is to help people, and sometimes I think they're more therapy for me than I am for them," Gedman added. "I pass along information that's been given to me throughout the years. It's not something that I invented. It was something that was given to me through this game."

Dating back to Theo Epstein's reign as general manager, the image of the PawSox hitting coach has been reduced to that of the worker bee adhering to the ideas passed down by Boston's front office. Work the count. Embrace the walk. Basically run up the starter's pitch count by any means necessary.

In short, the overseer of Pawtucket hitters is entrusted with the mission to spread the gospel and make sure the message sticks. Gedman will ask his guys to be aggressive but smart and selective, and aware of the game beyond individual at-bats.

He will also draw on what he learned and combine it with Boston's stance.

"The Red Sox give you information on how they want you to do things and you try and put the two together and give the best information that you can, knowing that you understand the game that they're playing, where they want to go and some of the pressures that they may to deal with," Gedman said. "More than anything, it's about helping the guys you're working with help themselves and where they have to go if they struggle or how to handle riding the wave of success. Each person's swing is different and so is their confidence level."

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The 2015 season will mark Gedman's fifth season in the Red Sox system as a hitting coach. He started out in the low minors before spending the past two seasons in Double-A Portland.

"I would love to tell you that my goal is to get to the big leagues, but I appreciate the vote of confidence the Red Sox have given me by moving me through the system" said Gedman. "Anytime they have asked me where I want to go, I tell them 'Wherever you need me.' If they have a need for me at the highest level, that's great too."

It's clear that the Red Sox value Gedman, a two-time All-Star catcher who hit .252 for his career. Portland hit .268 as a team in 2014 with Gedman drawing rave reviews for his work with notable prospects Mookie Betts, Sean Coyle and Blake Swihart. Betts reached the majors and Swihart joined the PawSox in time for the Governors' Cup run.

In the offseason, Boston interviewed Gedman for its vacant hitting-coach post. The job eventually went to Chili Davis, who served as Pawtucket's hitting coach in 2011.

"It was nice to be considered," said Gedman. "Sometimes I'm very conservative with my thinking and so I was surprised, not understanding the pecking order of how the system works. I took the opportunity to meet with the manager, general manager and his assistant and thought the interview process went well.



"I still believe the Red Sox have a place for me. They see me fitting in somewhere," Gedman. "I think part of the reason why I'm in Pawtucket is that I've had most of the guys who are going to be there. I'm where the organization wants me and figuring that it's the best fit for the people that are there."

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Gedman's sheer presence at McCoy Stadium provokes several memories, most notably his role in the longest game in professional baseball history. He caught the first nine innings of the 33-inning affair between Pawtucket and Rochester. Stories from that April 1981 evening will undoubtedly be revisited Saturday when Gedman appears at McCoy as part of the annual Hot Stove production the PawSox put on each winter.

"It's nice to come back and say welcome home. I was there for a brief stay, but it was a very important one," said Gedman, who appeared in 140 games in a PawSox uniform. "It was a great place to play, a wonderful baseball atmosphere and certainly a city that supported its team and an ownership group that loved having the Red Sox 45 minutes up the road."

Follow Brendan McGair on Twitter @BWMcGair03