Local Baseball Hero Named New Manager of New Britain Bees

NEW BRITAIN, CT — A former Berlin High School baseball star who went on to play six seasons in the major leagues has been named the third manager of the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Mauro “Goose” Gozzo, who led the Redcoats to the Class M title game in 1984 at Beehive Field, adjacent to New Britain Stadium, replaces Wally Backman as the Bees' field general. He worked as the team’s pitching coach in 2018.

Backman is now manager of the Bees' league rival, the Long Island Ducks.

“It’s a great honor to be named manager of the Bees and be able to coach in an area where I grew up and began my baseball career,” Gozzo said. “After being a part of the Bees coaching staff last season, I’ve seen the wide array of talent that the Atlantic League has. I’m excited to manage these exceptional players and help them reach their goal of getting back to the affiliated ranks, while also putting a winning team on the field here in New Britain.”

“Mauro is an outstanding teacher and homegrown talent,” Bees general manager Brad Smith said. “To be able to bring on someone with his skills and connection to the local community is a win for everyone. Mauro excelled in the pitching coach role for us this past year, and we look forward to a successful 2019 season with him at the helm.”

Born in New Britain, Gozzo began his professional career after being selected in the 13th round of the 1984 MLB amateur draft. He spent three years in the Mets organization before being traded to the Kansas City Royals as part of a deal for David Cone.

After a couple of campaigns with the Royals organization, he joined the Toronto Blue Jays, where he would make his Major League debut in 1989. The righthander had a six-year big league career, also playing for the Cleveland Indians (1990-91), Minnesota Twins (1992) and Mets (1993-94). Over the course of 48 career Major League appearances, including 13 starts, he posted a 7-7 record in 124 innings pitched.

Gozzo led the New Britain pitching staff to a 3.71 ERA in 2018, which ranked third in the Atlantic League. Prior to joining the Bees, he has been involved with a multitude of baseball initiatives. Gozzo has been a private instructor, teaching the likes of big leaguers Matt Cain and Drew Pomeranz, and also coached a nationally ranked elite competitive travel team in the Connecticut area for nine years.

New Britain's season opener is slated for Friday, April 26 at Somerset. A week later, on May 3, will be Gozzo's home debut as skipper, also against the Patriots.

Story and photo courtesy of New Britain Bees

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