YONKERS — Former New York Yankees ace closer Mariano Rivera drew a crowd of fans at Yonkers' Stew Leonard's grocery store on Friday, Oct. 9.
Rivera, a baseball Hall of Famer, promoted his assortment of hot sauces — "Mo's Heat" — and was there for people who lined up to take photos with him.
He also received a proclamation from state elected officials recognizing it as Mariano Rivera Day. The event commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Yankees’ 1996 World Series championship, the first of Rivera’s five championship titles. And Rivera received an honorary firefighter recognition, "celebrating his longstanding connection to New York’s bravest," a news release said.
Among others who spoke at Friday's event were Stew Leonard Jr., president and chief
executive of the Stew Leonard's stores, and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano.
Rivera also promoted his line of "Mo's Heat" sauces at the DeCicco & Sons grocery store in Sleepy Hollow on Oct. 7 and in May he debuted the sauces at Cingari Family Markets' ShopRite stores, largely in Connecticut's Fairfield County.
The three varieties of Mo's Heat sauces were on display at Stew Leonard's Friday. The sauces bear the names of his various baseball pitches: the cutter, the curve and the sinker. Rivera was the Bronx Bombers' key closer — the pitcher brought in late in a game to lock down the win. He famously walked out to the pitcher's mound to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman," which played through a speaker at one point Friday in the area near where Rivera spoke and met with fans.
The cutter — Rivera's main pitch during his iconic Yankees career — is also the signature hot sauce, the release said. The sauce "starts smooth, then builds into a satisfying, lingering heat. Best paired with soups, pastas, meat, fish, shellfish, sandwiches, or even rice and pizza," the release said.
The curve is "bright and and herbaceous with a crisp but balanced heat from green habaneros. The freshest of the heats, it pairs well with all your favorite foods," the release said.
The sinker is "the most approachable sauce offering a richer and more rounded flavor, featuring fully ripened peppers with gradual heat and subtle sweetness." Pair it with meat, pastas, fish, shellfish, sandwiches or grilled vegetables.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yankees great Mariano Rivera draws fans at Yonkers Stew Leonard's appearance
