Yankees Legend Visits Stamford To Debut New Hot Sauce Line

STAMFORD, CT — New York Yankees legend and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera brought the heat to Stamford on Wednesday, but it wasn't in the form of his trademark cutter that helped him notch a record 652 saves or five World Series championships in the Bronx.

Rivera made an appearance at the Cingari Family Markets’ ShopRite of Commerce Street to debut his new line of hot sauce, Mo's Heat, and meet fans who were able to sample the brand's three flavors.

Officially licensed by MLB, Mo's Heat is produced in partnership with D’Elidas, one of Panama’s most established hot sauce producers.

The lineup features three hot sauce varieties, all made in Panama: The Cutter (habanero pepper), The Curve (green habanero pepper), and The Sinker (red habanero pepper) - each offering distinct flavors.

Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the song Rivera used as his entrance music during his playing career, blared over the ShopRite PA system as he entered the meet-and-greet area to cheers from the crowd on Wednesday.

Rivera was raised in the Panamanian fishing village of Puerto Caimito and signed with the Yankees in 1990.

He played 19 seasons for the Yankees and was a key cog in capturing five World Series Championships.

Largely throwing one pitch for his whole career - the cutter - Rivera tallied 42 postseason saves alongside his regular season total of 652 and was a 13-time All-Star.

In 2019, Rivera became the first player in history to be unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rivera told Patch on Wednesday he was inspired to launch the hot sauce line as an ode to his native Panama and as a "thank you" to Yankees fans.

"Working in New York for all those years, bringing all those championships to New York, I wanted to say 'thank you.' This is my way to say 'thank you.' It's a sauce we created that's genuine, it's organic, it's Panamanian. It's Mo," he said.

"It's something I'm really, really proud of... It means a lot to me to put my culture and my country in it. It was a no-brainer."

The Mo's Heat collection is available exclusively at participating Cingari Family Markets locations across Connecticut:

• ShopRite of Brookfield
• ShopRite of Bristol
• ShopRite of Commerce Street (Stamford)
• ShopRite of Danbury
• ShopRite of Derby
• ShopRite of Fairfield
• ShopRite of Norwalk
• ShopRite of Shelton
• ShopRite of Shippan Avenue (Stamford)
• ShopRite of Southbury
• Grade A Market, Hope Street (Stamford)
• Grade A Market, Newfield Avenue (Stamford)

The sauces will expand to additional retailers in the future.

Tom Cingari Jr., the vice president of produce, floral, and ecommerce for Cingari Family Markets, said he was excited to welcome Mo's Heat to Cingari stores.

The partnership was developed through a mutual friend with Rivera, said Cingari, who gave guidance on how to bring the product into the retail space.

"It's been a great partnership with such a legendary name in baseball history," Cingari told Patch. "We're the first supermarkets to carry this, so it's been an honor to work with him and support him in the effort... It's become my favorite hot sauce by far. It's the only thing I use now, and I'm a huge hot sauce guy."

Mo's Heat is also currently available at the MLB Flagship Store at 1271 6th Ave in Manhattan.

For more on Mo's Heat, check out the product's website.