The Top Five Red Sox Players to Wear Number 10

The '9' jersey was easy to write about. Out of circulation for some time and worn by one of the greatest players ever makes for an easy entry. Then you have the '10' jersey. No less than 30 players have worn this number since 1931. The '10' may have gotten around a lot (worn by Andre Dawson, Luis Alicea, Lee Tinsley and Scott Hatteberg in successive seasons) and doesn't have the most impressive pedigree (who can forget the immortal Mike Brumley?) but some fine players have worn this number.

5. Coco Crisp (2006-2008) - The starting center-fielder for most of 2007, what Crisp brought to the Sox more than anything else was stellar defense. He was flat-out robbed of a Gold Glove at the end of 2007, a season where he made insane catches look routine. 2007 was a good season overall for Crisp. He did rank in the Top 10 in the AL for doubles and triples, and was 9th in the AL in stolen bases with 28. Add that to his excellent glove (ninth in Defensive WAR in the AL | Led AL CF in range factor for 2007) and you can see why he was solid trade material at the end of 2008. It's just a shame that the player the Sox got back was Ramon Ramirez.

4. Gerald Moses (1968-70) - A lot of you are probably going "Who?" and no one could blame you. Moses was a back-up catcher for the Sox in 1968 and 1969 before becoming the starter in 1970. That year he went to the All-Star game, his sole achievement of note in the major leagues. That fall he was traded to the California Angels. I know some of you will say "Why isn't Coco fourth?" All-Star games matter, my friends. Moses went to one and Crisp didn't.

3. Rich Gedman (1981-1990) - Geds had the utterly unenviable task of taking over for Carlton Fisk after management completely fucked up his contract signing and split time with Gary Allenson for a couple of years before the Sox finally went with Gedman full-time in 1984. What people seem to forget about Rich is that he wasn't a bad catcher. He finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1981, losing out to Yankee pitcher and Sox torturer Dave Righetti (as if 8-4 is some big deal.) He did win The Sporting News Rookie of the Year honors, however. Gedman went to two All-Star games (1985-86) and finished in the Top 25 for AL MVP voting in 1985. Plus, he was a local kid from Worcester and that was always a cool thing to see. Unfortunately, after 1986 Gedman had a lot of injury problems and was never a full-time catcher again for the Sox. In 1990 he was dealt to the Houston Astros for the proverbial "player to be named later."

In a cool turn of events, Rich Gedman is a hitting coach with the Sox Double-A affiliate in Portland, ME. I got to meet him at a Sea Dogs function and basically act like a six-year-old, stammering about how I saw him play for Boston's AA affiliate in Bristol, CT in 1979. He was gracious and genuinely appreciative that I remembered something like that. Bottom line: Rich Gedman is awesome.