Summary
Mauro "Blond Herring" or "Goose" Gozzo (born March 7, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current manager of the Gastonia Honey Hunters. He played all or parts of six seasons in the majors, from 1989 until 1994.
| Mauro Gozzo | |
|---|---|
 Gozzo in 1988 | |
| Gastonia Honey Hunters – No. 5 | |
| Pitcher / Manager/Pitching Coach | |
| Born: March 7, 1966 New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 8, 1989, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 11, 1994, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 7–7 |
| Earned run average | 5.30 |
| Strikeouts | 55 |
| Teams | |
Career edit
Playing edit
He was selected in the 13th round of the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Mets, and was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1987 as part of the package for David Cone.[1] Two seasons later, he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the minor league draft, and he debuted in the majors for the Jays on August 8, 1989. After his rookie season, Gozzo played two years for the Cleveland Indians and one for the Minnesota Twins.[2] During his two games with the Twins, he had a blond mustache with brown hair, earning him the nickname of Blond Herring. He played his final two seasons for the Mets, playing his final game on August 11, 1994. (That was the last day of the 1994 season. The players' strike began the next day, and continued into 1995.[3]
Coaching edit
Gozzo served as the director of the Goose's Gamers AAU baseball league in 2010.[4] In 2018, Gozzo served as the pitching coach for the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was promoted to manager for the 2019 season following Wally Backman's departure.[5] In 2020, he became pitching coach under manager Wally Backman for the Long Island Ducks.[6]
On February 18, 2021, Gozzo was announced as manager of the new Gastonia Honey Hunters franchise in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[6]
Personal life edit
Gozzo was born in New Britain, Connecticut, and graduated from Berlin High School, he moved to Wallingford, Connecticut, after his playing career ended. Gozzo has twin sons, Paul and Sal both of whom have played college baseball.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Mets Strike Gold in Trade For David Cone". Metsmerized Online. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ Sep 16; Baseball |, 1990 | This Day In (1990-09-16). "1990 - Cleveland trades pending free agent Bud Black (11-10) to Toronto for Mauro Gozzo, Steve Cummings, and Alex Sanchez. Black will sign with the Giants on November 9th". This Day In Baseball. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Longest strike in major league baseball history ends". history.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ "2012-12U-NAVY". www.mountainridgeevents.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ "Bees Name Goose Gozzo Manager". New Britain Bees. January 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "TEAM MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENT". Gastonia Honey Hunters. February 18, 2021.
- ^ Putterman, Alex (8 January 2019). "New Britain Bees hire local favorite Mauro 'Goose' Gozzo as new manager". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
Sources edit
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)