Mauro Gozzo

Mauro Paul Gozzo was born on March 7, 1966 in New Britain, Connecticut. 

The New York Mets selected him in round 13 of the 1984 MLB Draft. He was traded twice while still a prospect, and made his Major League debut for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989, Gozzo had a 4.83 ERA over 31.2 innings for the Blue Jays as a rookie, making three starts and six relief appearances. They traded him to the Cleveland Indians in 1990, where he pitched 7.2 innings over parts of two seasons.

Gozzo signed a minor league with the Minnesota Twins in 1992. He played out the entire Triple-A schedule, going 10-9 with a 3.53 ERA in 19 starts and 16 relief outings. Gozzo then joined the Twins as a September call-up, allowing five runs over 1.2 innings out of their bullpen.

He became a free agent after the season, and signed a minor league deal with the Mets. Gozzo was 3-6 with one save in 83.0 innings for New York over parts of two seasons. He spent 1995 in the Cubs minor league system, and then went into coaching.

After years of coaching AAU baseball, he took to the professional ranks. The New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League named Gozzo as their pitching coach in 2018, and promoted him to manager the following year. Gozzo was hired to manage the Gastoina Honey Hunters, also of the Atlantic League, in 2021. They folded after the 2023 season, but were replaced in the Atlantic League by a brand new team called the Gastonia Ghost Peppers. Gozzo stayed in the city to manage the new club. As of 2025, he is still their manager.