Meet Some Local Ex-Pro Ballplayers: Mauro Gozzo, Berlin

BERLIN, CT — From pitching in a state championship game in his final high school appearance, to managing an expansion team in an independent professional baseball league, Berlin High School alum Mauro Gozzo has seen numerous peaks and valleys in his four decades on the diamond. He played for seven managers who earned World Series rings as players, managers or coaches; spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues during his 12-year professional career, including tossing eight shutout innings in his big league debut; and watched his sons capture the high school state title that eluded him 31 years earlier, then go on to play Division I college ball, with one following in his footsteps by signing a pro contract.

Known by many as "Goose," Gozzo first made his mark in high school baseball, leading second-seeded Berlin to the 1984 Class M tournament championship game against rival Plainville. The encounter took place at nearby Beehive Field in New Britain.

"[The stadium] was basically brand new then, and we sold the place out for the championship game against Plainville," Gozzo recalled in a past interview with Patch. "Plainville was our rival - the city of New Britain separates Berlin and Plainville in certain directions - so it was perfectly placed for both teams that made the championship."

The title encounter matched Gozzo against Plainville's Jeff Howes, who got the better of him that day. Both young men were drafted by the New York Mets that spring - Howes in the fourth round with the 81st overall pick, and Gozzo in the 13th round as the 315th selection - and despite their rivalry, wound up being teammates and roommates under manager Bud Harrelson with Little Falls (NY) in the New York-Penn League.

In three seasons with the Mets' organization, Gozzo made 133 relief appearances, compiling a 24-11 record with 25 saves. Prior to the 1987 season, however, he was one of three players dealt to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for future 20-game winner and perfect game hurler David Cone.

The Royals began converting Gozzo back into a starting pitcher over the next two years with the Double-A Memphis Chicks. He started 26 contests and relieved in 26 more, but could manage just a 10-14 record with a 5.14 earned-run average. Following the 1988 campaign, the Toronto Blue Jays claimed him in the minor league draft.

He began 1989 at Double-A Knoxville, but after posting a 7-0 record and 2.98 ERA in 18 games, was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. He continued the best run of his pro career with a 5-1 mark and 2.76 ERA in 12 games, earning a call-up to the Blue Jays in early August.

On Aug. 8, 1989, Gozzo made his big league debut against the Texas Rangers before 48,689 fans at the Skydome (now the Rogers Centre). Facing a powerful lineup that included 569-home run hitter Rafael Palmeiro, future Hall of Famer Harold Baines, three-time All-Star Jim Sundberg, A.L. batting champion Julio Franco and slugger Pete Incaviglia, he pitched eight innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits as the Blue Jays prevailed, 7-0. The only batter whom he could not solve was Baines, who collected all three Ranger hits - all singles.

Gozzo's sparkling debut pushed Toronto over .500 for the first time all season, igniting a hot streak in which the team won 33 of its final 50 games to capture the American League East Division title by two games over the Baltimore Orioles. Despite posting a 4-1 record in nine games, including three starts, Gozzo was not included on the roster for the A.L. Championship Series, which Toronto lost to the eventual World Series champion Oakland Athletics in five games.

After spending most of 1990 at Syracuse, Gozzo and two players to be named later were traded in mid-September to the Cleveland Indians for left-handed pitcher Bud Black. He hurled three scoreless innings in a pair of late-season appearances, butwas back in Triple-A with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1991.

Primarily a starter again, Gozzo went 10-6 in 25 games, earning an August call-up to the Indians, but was ineffective in two starts. He signed with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in 1992, but spent most of the year back in Triple-A with the Portland Beavers. Splitting time between starting and relief, he went 10-9 with a 3.35 ERA and a career-high 108 strikeouts, and was called up to the parent club when rosters expanded in September, appearing in two games.

Again a free agent to begin 1993, Gozzo signed with his original organization, the Mets, and was converted back to a full-time starter at Triple-A Norfolk. With fellow Connecticut product Brook Fordyce of New London as his primary catcher, he hurled 190 innings - the most in his career - and fashioned a fine 3.45 ERA despite an 8-11 record. He was again called up to the Mets in September, making 10 relief appearances with a 2.57 ERA.

Having seemingly turned the corner in his career, Gozzo got off to a hot start at Norfolk in 1994, posting a 1.86 ERA before being brought back to the majors in late April. He started eight games among his 23 appearances, but managed just a 3-5 record and 4.83 ERA.

On Aug. 12, 1994, a bitter labor dispute between players and owners led to a strike which canceled the remainder of the season, including the World Series. Gozzo became a free agent, and eventually signed with the Chicago Cubs organization for their Triple-A club in Iowa. After six starts and an 0-3 record, his playing career was over at age 29. He recorded a 7-7 career major league record in 48 games.

After getting married and starting a family, Gozzo lived in Tennessee for more than 20 years, operating an instructional facility which trained future big league stars Matt Cain and Drew Pomeranz. After Cain hurled a rare perfect game for the San Francisco Giants in 2012, the team invited Gozzo, who had mentored Cain since he was 11 years old, to a celebration entitled "Perfect Cain Night at AT&T Park."

In an interview with Patch at the time, Gozzo said, "Matt has talked in articles all the time about how I was a big part in his development since he was 11 years old, which I obviously appreciate. This was a surprise to me and it will be a surprise to him. He doesn't know I'm coming. He invited me to the World Series [in 2010] so we are still pretty close. It couldn't happen to a nicer kid.""

Gozzo and his family eventually moved back to Connecticut, where he served as director of the Goose's Gamers AAU baseball league that traveled the nation, and where his twin sons Paul and Sal honed their skills.

"I was always instructing and coaching; I never really left the game," he said.

His boys were key elements in Sheehan High School's run to the Class M championship in 2015. Paul, a catcher, played four years of NCAA baseball, including two seasons with UConn, while Sal, an infielder, played at Tulane University for three years before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 2019. Last year, he played at three different levels, including a stint with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

"He’s taught me every single thing I know, since I was 2 years old," Sal Gozzo told the New Haven Register in 2018. "Not just the basics, but how to play the game right. I owe a lot to him. My successes now, in the past and, hopefully, the future - a lot goes to him."

Gozzo got back into the pro game in 2018, when he signed on as pitching coach for the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Playing at New Britain Stadium, literally next door to Beehive Field, he worked with manager Wally Backman, a spark plug of the 1986 World Series champion Mets.

Backman left New Britain following that year to take the same position with the Long Island Ducks, and Gozzo was quickly named manager. He guided the Bees to a 72-68 record, third in the ALPB Liberty Division, but following the season, team management dropped its affiliation with pro baseball and joined the Futures League, consisting of collegiate players. Gozzo reconnected with Backman on Long Island as pitching coach, but the 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gastonia, N.C. was awarded an ALPB expansion franchise beginning in 2021, and Gozzo was hired as the club's first manager. Known as the Honey Hunters, the team finished last in the South Division with a 54-66 record, despite ranking second in the league with a .282 cumulative batting average. The problem was on the mound, where 37 different pitchers combined for an abysmal 7.19 ERA. Improving those numbers is the priority of Gozzo and pitching coach Reggie Harris, himself a 6-year MLB veteran.

With Connecticut no longer having any teams in the ALPB, Gozzo fans will have to travel a little bit to see him and the Honey Hunters - but not too far. The team is slated for a 3-game series at Staten Island May 6-8, then returns there for three more games May 13-15. Gastonia also has a 4-game set scheduled at Long Island May 27-30.

Other stories in this series:

• Brad Tweedlie, Enfield
• Gary Burnham, South Windsor
• Mike Schweighoffer, Farmington