Former New York Yankees pitcher and Baseball Hall of Fame member, Mariano Rivera was at ShopRite, on Commerce Street in Stamford, to launch Mariano Rivera’s new hot sauce brand, “Mo’s Heat”, exclusively at Cingari Family Markets. Rivera will be on-site to meet fans, pose for photos, and host tastings of his signature sauces: The Cutter, The Curve, and The Sinker. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Stamford, Conn.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
Nolan Eaker, 10, of Milford, looks over a stack of boxes of cookies to get a glimpse of Former New York Yankees pitcher and Baseball Hall of Fame member, Mariano Rivera who was at ShopRite, on Commerce Street in Stamford, to launch Mariano Rivera’s new hot sauce brand, “Mo’s Heat”, exclusively at Cingari Family Markets. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Stamford, Conn.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
Ted Huminski, of Shelton watches Former New York Yankees pitcher and Baseball Hall of Fame member, Mariano Rivera who was at ShopRite, on Commerce Street in Stamford, to launch Mariano Rivera’s new hot sauce brand, “Mo’s Heat”, exclusively at Cingari Family Markets. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Stamford, Conn.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
Greg Hirshorn, of Fairfield, has his photo taken with former New York Yankees pitcher and Baseball Hall of Fame member, Mariano Rivera who was at ShopRite, on Commerce Street in Stamford, to launch Mariano Rivera’s new hot sauce brand, “Mo’s Heat”, exclusively at Cingari Family Markets.Hirshorn was first in line to meet Rivera. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Stamford, Conn.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
Former New York Yankees pitcher and Baseball Hall of Fame member, Mariano Rivera was at ShopRite, on Commerce Street in Stamford, to launch Mariano Rivera’s new hot sauce brand, “Mo’s Heat”, exclusively at Cingari Family Markets. Rivera will be on-site to meet fans, pose for photos, and host tastings of his signature sauces: The Cutter, The Curve, and The Sinker. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Stamford, Conn.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
In this Sept. 26, 2013, file photo, Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera acknowledges the crowd’s standing ovation after coming off the mound in the ninth inning of his final appearance. Rivera, baseball’s career saves leader, is among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Kathy Willens / Associated Press
STAMFORD — “Enter Sandman” played as Mariano Rivera walked out to a crowd of more than a hundred people on Wednesday lined up to see him in Stamford.
“It made me feel grateful,” Rivera said. “It made me feel thankful for the Lord for giving me all those years.”
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The former Yankees pitcher wasn’t walking up to close out a game, though. He was at the ShopRite off West Main Street in Stamford to celebrate the launch of his hot sauce brand with Connecticut shoppers, Mo’s Heat, named after his nickname, Mo.
There are three sauces: The Cutter, named after Rivera’s signature pitch, which tastes like habanero pepper, The Curve, which tastes like green habanero pepper and The Sinker, which tastes like red habanero pepper.
Single bottles of the sauce cost $6.99. A box with one of each costs $19.99.
The sauce is currently only sold in Connecticut and is available at 12 Cingari Family Market locations for a limited time, including two Grade A Markets in Stamford and Shop Rites in Stamford, Brookfield, Bristol, Danbury, Derby, Fairfield, Norwalk, Shelton and Southbury.
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Vice President at Cingari Family Markets Tom Cingari Jr. said the sauce partnership came about after he met Rivera through a mutual friend.
Rivera, who was also the first person unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame when he was elected in January 2019, tasted the sauces and took pictures with fans at the event. Fans also got to taste the sauces. He was also joined by members of his family, including his wife, sister and “everybody that I can have,” he said.
The sauce is inspired by Rivera’s upbringing in Puerto Caimito, Panama, and made in partnership with D’Elidas, one of Panama’s most established hot sauce producers, according to a news release by Cingari Family Markets.
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The sauce, he said, was one way to stay connected to Panama and his visit was also a way to give back to the fans who supported him over the years.
“What’s important for that connection is that the sauce is being Panamanian, I’m being Panamanian and being genuine,” Rivera said.
Patrick McNichols drove his grandson, Nolan Eaker, an hour and fifteen minutes from Milford to Stamford to see Rivera. The two had been waiting in line since 11 a.m. to meet Rivera at 1 p.m.
The line had grown since they had finished meeting Rivera.
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Eaker, a young boy, wore a red Yankees hat and had a copy of Rivera’s biography, “The Closer.” Eaker said Rivera was his favorite baseball player of all time.
Eaker also wrote a letter for Rivera, which he gave to him on Wednesday. Eaker said he wrote in the letter how there will never be another player like Rivera.
“It was just an amazing experience getting to see my favorite player and give him something and talk to him,” Eaker said.
McNichols said Rivera was a “great role model for kids.” He said he bought The Cutter sauce.
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“It’s just incredible how long he was able to do what he did at the level he did it,” McNichols said.
McNichols also said it was “very special” to meet Rivera with his grandson. McNichols said he remembered watching Rivera play as the setup man for John Wetteland before Rivera took on the role of full-time closer in 1997.
He and his grandson, he said, talk about baseball “all the time.”
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“Baseball bridges generation,” McNichols said. “That’s one of the biggest aspects that creates multi-generation fans.”
