Mauro Gozzo


Mauro "Blond Herring" or "Goose" Gozzo is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and current pitching coach for the Long Island Ducks. He played all or part of six seasons in the majors, from until.

Career

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. 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. During his season with the Twins, he was famous for having 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.
Gozzo previously served as the director of the Goose's Gamers AAU baseball league. 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. In 2020, he became pitching coach under manager Wally Backman for the Long Island Ducks.