Mauro Gozzo's moment in the sun was brief, but memorable. Called up to the Toronto Blue Jays from Triple-A Syracuse as an emergency starter in August of 1989, Gozzo won each of his first four outings whilst the Jays were locked in a tight pennant battle with the Baltimore Orioles. After those first four appearances (the first three as a starter, the fourth as a reliever in a 14-inning victory over Detroit), Gozzo was 4-0, with a 1.23 ERA in 22 innings, and he was major factor in keeping the Jays in pennant contention during an otherwise poor two-week slump. However, the rest of Gozzo's career was a distinct anti-climax. He never won another game for the Jays (who went on to win the 1989 AL East flag by two games), and only won another 3 decisions (against 7 losses) throughout the rest of his major league tenure, which included brief trials with the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and New York Mets.
» Rudyard Kennedy is a Toronto-based writer.
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Copyright © 2002 by Rudyard Kennedy. Posted July 8, 2002.
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