Mauro "Blond Herring" or "Goose" Gozzo (born March 7, 1966) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher and current manager of the

Gastonia Honey Hunters The Gastonia Honey Hunters are a professional baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina. They play in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball, at CaroMont Health Park i ...

. He played all or parts of six seasons in the majors, from until .

Career

Playing

He was selected in the 13th round of the

1984 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable players *Jeff Blauser†, 1st round (secondary phase), 4th overall by the Atlanta Braves * Greg Maddux‡, 2nd round, 31st ...

by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, and was traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in 1987 as part of the package for

David Cone David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and WPIX as well as for ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball.Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

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 The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and one for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. 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.

Coaching

Gozzo served as the director of the Goose's Gamers AAU baseball league in 2010. In 2018, Gozzo served as the pitching coach for the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He was promoted to manager for the 2019 season following

Wally Backman Walter Wayne Backman (born September 22, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is best known for his time with the New York Mets from – and was a member of their 1986 World Series-winning team. He was also the for ...

's departure. In 2020, he became pitching coach under manager

for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

. On February 18, 2021, Gozzo was announced as manager of the new

franchise in the

Personal life

Gozzo was born in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...

and graduated from Berlin High School, he moved to

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...

after his playing career ended. Gozzo has twin sons, Paul and Sal both of whom have played college baseball.

References

Sources

1966 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Connecticut Baseball players from Connecticut Cleveland Indians players Columbia Mets players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Iowa Cubs players Knoxville Blue Jays players Little Falls Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chicks players Minnesota Twins players New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Portland Beavers players Sportspeople from New Britain, Connecticut Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players New Britain Bees {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub